Learning sustainable palm 

The world’s population consumed 50 million metric tons of palm oil in 2011, a number expected to grow to 77 million by 2050. As this demand increases, sustainable production methods across the industry are critical to protecting the environment.

Cargill has invested $250,000 and joined with Institute Pertanian Bogor (IPB), one of Indonesia’s leading agricultural universities, to establish the country’s first palm oil teaching farm. It will give scientists the opportunity to do research on sustainable production and offer training to students who will go on to work in and manage the industry.

What do they learn about? Soil, fertilizer and environmental conditions, to name a few things. IPB’s agriculture faculty members are on hand to guide teams of students in their research and analysis. Our field experts also visit regularly to share commercial perspective.

“It’s been our dream to have a farm to help teach about sustainable palm production,” said Dr. Sudradjat, a palm oil ecophysiologist and professor specializing in palm oil.