Towards Responsible And Inclusive Financing Of The Palm Oil Sector PDF Download

Key messages Many stakeholders, including governments, production and processing companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), are working towards a more sustainable palm oil sector. Although smallholders account for an important share of oil palm cultivation, the social and environmental challenges of smallholder practices receive relatively little attention.Financial Service Providers (FSPs), such as banks and pension funds, could play a more significant role developing a more sustainable and inclusive palm oil sector by tying Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) conditions to the financial services they provide to palm oil companies that source products from smallholders.The majority of funds financing the major palm oil companies originate from FSPs based in Asian countries such as Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Currently, these FSPs do not have adequate ESG policies.European and American FSP policies are more advanced in addressing such issues as deforestation and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification. Nevertheless, they still pay very little attention to the inclusion of smallholders in sustainable supply chains.Due to the differences between ESG policies followed by European and American FSPs in comparison to Asian FSPs, palm oil companies still have ample alternatives to access financing with few conditions. As a result, the potentially significant contribution of FSPs to foster a more sustainable palm oil sector remains underutilized.Adoption of more adequate ESG policies by Asian FSPs could occur in the first place through an increased understanding by these FSPs of the financial risks involved in continuing business as usual. Second, peer pressure from European and American FSPs and sustainability initiatives would help. Third, financial regulators in the palm oil production countries increasingly look for instruments to stimulate the financial sector to contribute more to the sustainable development of their economies.

Key messages Smallholder farmers require significant financing to establish, maintain and replant their oil palm plantations, in order to both increase productivity and improve the quality of the fresh fruit bunches (FFB) produced.Smallholders are also limited in their capacity to self-finance their plantation operations.There is a significant gap, both in terms of amount and accessibility, between the demand smallholders in the palm oil sector make for credit and the supply of that credit by banks and financial institutions.The majority of credit approved for smallholders can only be used for working capital and cannot cover the costs of replanting or accommodate the timeframe required for it.A credit maturity gap also exists in the majority of financing schemes, with loan repayment schedules beginning immediately after fund disbursement. Few financing schemes consider oil palm farmers' initial wait for a harvest, and thus provide loans with a grace period adapted to these timescales.Risk sharing gaps are visible when farmers repay their loans, as any variation or volatility in production costs and palm oil prices is borne by producers.Legal gaps are also evident, with many smallholders not holding proper documentation, which prevents them for using their land as collateral to access credit from banks.These gaps reduce the possibility of smallholders accessing formal credit, which in turn drives an informal local lending market with higher interest rates.In order to improve formal credit access for smallholder oil palm farmers, the different gaps (i.e. maturity, risk and legal) must be addressed.

The palm oil sector has been targeted by NGOs for its alleged negative environmental and social impacts. In this regard Indonesia represents a major challenge because it is home to some of the largest tropical forests in the world. A recent wave of corporate sustainability commitments peaked with the New York Declaration on Forests in September 2014, which emerged amidst the development of other standards and initiatives toward sustainable palm oil production. This process has made this field very complex, especially in Indonesia. The present study aims at clarifying the positions taken by the various stakeholders and assesses the level of political support and the functioning of policy networks. Results from our Policy Network Analysis based on the survey of 59 institutions representing all types of stakeholders (e.g. government, corporate, NGO) at all levels (international, Indonesian and local) show that standards and initiatives for sustainability have contrasting visibility and impact among stakeholders. In this context, RSPO stands as a reference, with the efforts by the Government of Indonesia to promote its own standard with ISPO yet to gain traction. While IPOP was a well-appreciated initiative and a symbol of zero-deforestation commitments, opposition to it by the government and conflicting interests have resulted in its disbandment. Overall, the lack of progress for sustainable palm oil practices on the ground, in the view of respondents, seems to be caused by political and legal barriers rather than technical challenges or economic losses at a country level.