More than 20 000 independent smallholder oil palm farmers supply fresh fruit bunches (FFB) to medium and large-scale oil palm processing mills in Ghana. However, like many other smallholders, these farmers lack support in the way of training or extension assistance from processing mills and government agencies. With rising demand for Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil, smallholders will be left out of the supply chain if they cannot achieve RSPO certification.
According to RSPO, Ghanian smallholder farmers supply more than 70 percent of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) required by the country’s oil palm processing mills. However, like many other smallholders, these farmers lack support in the way of training or extension assistance from processing mills and government agencies.
Furthermore, the average yield of such farmers is around 4 tonnes of FFB per hectare per year—only about 25 percent of what it could be. Poor agronomy, limited use of fertiliser, and low-yield planting materials are the main causes for the low production levels.
As many of the smallholders are not organised into recognised groups, they also do not receive any support from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or development partners. With rising demand for RSPO certified palm oil, smallholders will be left out of the supply chain if they cannot achieve RSPO certification.
To address this, the RSPO Smallholder Engagement Platform (RSEP) was developed to bridge the gap between palm oil smallholders and potential project partners, to enable more smallholders to engage in sustainable supply chains and give smallholders all over the world access to additional resources and support. The Farmers Association in Ghana is seeking support from market players and project partners via the RSEP.
