By Signing This Smallholder Declaration, I Assert That:

A.I recognise the importance of sustainable production.

B.I will join a smallholder group to pursue group certification of the RSPO ISH standard, and comply with the principles and their relevant criteria and indicators.

C.I will provide the following information about my plot to my group manager:

  1. All land holdings 
  2. Location (coordinates) of all plots currently planted with oil palm
  3. Ownership and land use status
  4. Details on plans for replanting and expansion of oil palm 
  5. Any existing land disputes 
  6. Source of farm labour
  7. Information on all plots converted and planted with oil palm after 2005
  8. Any plots located on steep slopes
  9. Any plots located on peat
  10. All plans for replanting
  11. List of existing stocks in the inventory of paraquat and pesticides categorised as WHO Class 1A or 1B, carcinogenicity Categories 1A and 1B, mutagenicity Categories 1A and 1B, or reproductive toxicity Categories 1A and 1B under GHS, listed by the Stockholm or Rotterdam Conventions, and restricted or prohibited under national regulations
  12. Pests and diseases, weeds and invasive species in smallholder plots

D.I commit to the following:

  1. Continue to progress along the standard and meet the required milestones for progress
  2. Participate in training(s)/capacity building programme(s) in the group as required in the standard
  3. Implement relevant Best Management Practices (BMPs) on their plots
  4. Resolve any existing disputes
  5. (For new planting) Identify affected communities, if any. If affected communities are identified, to commit to negotiate with affected communities to obtain consent for land use prior to cultivation and to commit to discuss impacts and measures for the mitigation and management of any impact
    Note: This clause of the Declaration shall be updated when the RSPO Simplified FPIC approach for ISH has been endorsed and approved for implementation
  6. Ensure no forced labour on smallholder plot(s) and end any existing forced labour
  7. Ensure no child labour on smallholder plot(s) and end any existing child labour
  8. Pay at least the legal minimum wage without discrimination against vulnerable groups, including women and migrant workers
  9. Respect the rights of workers to file a complaint/grievance without retaliation
  10. Provide safe working conditions and facilities based on the health and safety risk identification, conducted together with Group Manager
  11. No discrimination, no intimidation, no harassment (including threats), no sexual harassment, no abuse, and no violence in smallholder plots
  12. Avoid development in, and protect, HCVs and HCS forests, and to manage rare, threatened or endangered (RTE) species, if any, based on the results of the Land Use Change Analysis (LUCA) conducted in the pre-membership stage assisted by the RSPO Secretariat
  13. A) No new planting on HCVs or HCS forests;
    B) No new planting on steep slopes (more than 25 degrees, or as in the National Interpretation);
    C) No new planting on peat until HCVs and/or HCS forest(s) are identified;
    D) No new planting in restricted areas or protected by national laws; and/or
    E) No new planting on riparian reserves
  14. For existing planting on peat, minimise subsidence and degradation of peat soils according to the latest version of the 'RSPO Smallholder Best Management Practices Manual for Existing Oil Palm Cultivation on Peat'
  15. Replanting will only be in areas with low risk of flooding or saline intrusion based on an approved flood risk assessment, in accordance with the latest version of the 'RSPO ISH Flood Risk Assessment Template'
  16. No use of fire for land preparation, or for pest and disease management unless in exceptional circumstances, and no open burning for waste management within the smallholder plots
  17. No new planting in riparian reserves to ensure its maintenance and/or improvement in accordance with national legislation or the latest version of the 'RSPO Best Management Practices (BMPs) Manual for Management and Rehabilitation of Riparian Reserves' (whichever standard is higher shall prevail)
  18. Perform Best Management Practices (BMPs) for pesticides, and phasing out paraquat and prohibited pesticides by MS B

E.Smallholder Benefits

By adopting sustainable farming practices and complying to the RSPO ISH standard, I understand I will have:

  1. Knowledge on how to optimise productivity and yields by implementing the good and sustainable agricultural practices that I have been trained on;
  2. Knowledge on how to trade and participate in the market for sustainable palm oil and manage my farm professionally and become financially sustainable; and
  3. Structure as well as agency to be able to take the necessary steps towards a sustainable livelihood for my family and my community.

I recognise I will have access to technical support and financial support, as well as access to trade in the market for sustainable palm oil offered by RSPO and RSPO members, to enable me to realise the benefits of sustainable farming practices.