Partnerships and Memberships

GAR aims to build rural resilience. We help villages ensure food security while preserving their environment. The Forest Village Conservation project in Gunung Mas and Seruyan Districts includes the development and improvement of organic farming and coffee cultivation.

We assist village heads with developing a conservation plan, which aims to tap ecosystem services from protected areas. Coka Coffee (a coffee buyer, processor and trader) was brought in to develop the SESAMA programme where farmers are trained on Sustainable Agricultural Practices (SAP) for coffee cultivation and taught to prepare land for cultivation without using fire.

To date, four villages (two villages in Gunung Mas District and two villages in Seruyan District) have received technical and financial assistance from GAR and our partner, Wageningen University (WUR) to develop more areas for organic farming and coffee.

GAR, ADM Cares, and Tzu Chi Foundation are partnering on two projects to empower rural communities in Riau Province, Indonesia. The first project will improve childcare facilities (Balai Penitipan Anak/BPA) for women in rural communities. The second project will establish community learning centres (CLC) which serve as hubs for learning and community engagement. Both projects aim to improve income and food security for these communities.

The BPA project aims to improve 35 existing childcare centres, train 60 caregivers, and upgrade the facilities. The longer-term goal is to open the childcare centres to the broader community, not just GAR employees.

The CLC project in Riau will focus on developing a pilot model for integrated ecological farming, the production of commercial organic fertilisers and horticultural crops, as well as integrated cattle management. The project will identify suitable locations for the centres, form twelve community groups, provide training on sustainable agriculture, and promote local products developed by the community enterprises.

Press release: ADM Joins GAR and Tzu Chi Indonesia to Accelerate Progress in Indonesia’s Rural Economies

Visa partnered with GAR to pilot “Ibu Berbagi Bijak”, a financial literacy and business skills training programme for women in rural areas. This initiative is part of GAR’s ongoing programme to upgrade and maintain over 300 childcare facilities (Balai Penitipan Anak or BPA) in and around operational areas.

Research confirms the deep impact of accessible childcare for women. It not only removes a major barrier and empowers women to participate in the workforce, but also provides critical developmental benefits like proper nutrition for children.

Beyond immediate benefits, this initiative also upskills BPA caregivers and equips them with business management skills. The outcomes of this pilot will inform GAR and Visa’s efforts to introduce similar initiatives to other target groups in rural areas.

In 2014, GAR subsidiary, PT Kartika Prima Cipta (PT KPC), collaborated with the Dian Desa Foundation to help surrounding communities cultivate moringa plants, process, and market the end-products. By 2019, those communities planted more than 23,000 seedlings and are producing moringa products such as leaf powder, branch powder, seed powder, and seed skin powder to sell.

This is part of our Bright Future Initiative, which also includes piloting organic farming plots and other activities to expand and diversify income sources of communities.

From 2025 to 2028, GAR is collaborating with IDH and Mondelēz International to promote sustainable palm oil production in Aceh and North Sumatra. This initiative is part of the Sustainable Palm Oil Landscape programme and includes our Sawit Terampil project. We work with local mills that supply to GAR. Together, we reach out to independent smallholders, helping them to strengthen farm governance, access sustainable certification support programmes such as RSPO, and adopt more sustainable practices.

The goal: support 10,000 smallholders across Langkat, North Aceh, Subulussalam, and Aceh Singkil. This project also aims to empower 2,000 women by strengthening their household economy.

We will share progress along the way and welcome further collaboration from partners and stakeholder interested in supporting certified farmer groups and advancing sustainable palm oil.

After a successful project in Langkat, North Sumatra, we are continuing our partnership with IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative to empower independent palm oil smallholders in Ketapang, West Kalimantan – one of Indonesia’s key palm oil regions.

This new initiative (2024-2025) is part of IDH’s Initiative for Sustainable Landscape (ISLA) programme in Indonesia, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It focuses on two pillars:
• Helping farmers improve their skills through our Sawit Terampil programme
• Strengthening how the landscape is managed

By working with local mills that supply us, the project aims to reach at least 1,000 smallholders with training in Good Agricultural Practices and No Deforestation, No Peat, and No Exploitation (NDPE) principles. We want these improvements to benefit the farms directly, and create a positive ripple effect across the supply chain.

Through this partnership, we hope to build a more sustainable palm oil landscape in Ketapang – one that supports farmers’ livelihoods while protecting the environment.

GAR worked with Neste and SPKS to support independent smallholders in Siak, Riau. The project aimed to improve sustainable practices and secure Group Certification for the farmers for the supply of certified palm oil. Farmers received training and support to access wider markets, aligning with GAR’s and Neste’s sustainability goals.

Together with Nestlé and the Earthworm Foundation, we mapped smallholder estates and trained three villages in Participatory Land Use Mapping techniques to build capacity for the communities.

We also conducted training on the use of locally available materials to make organic fertiliser and best agricultural techniques to improve yields and soil health. Farmers were empowered to share their knowledge with other community members too.

We established a sample plot for horticulture projects to help promote livelihood diversification and food security. New crops include sweet corn, tomatoes, red beans, peanuts, onions, and rice.

From 2019 to 2023, this programme supported independent smallholders in Riau and Sumatra on their journey towards sustainable palm oil production. GAR provided training in sustainable agricultural practices to help farmers see the long-term value of adopting such methods.

Our technology partner, Koltiva, developed and rolled out digital platforms to improve traceability and transparency across the supply chain. Their field teams trained mill staff, agents, and farmers on using the system. This supported GAR and our partners in moving towards traceability to the plantation level.

By the end of 2021, the project had reached 1,505 out of 4,000 targeted smallholders, along with 45 agents and nine independent mills. In environmentally sensitive areas, the programme also included deforestation monitoring.

To learn about our initiative, you can read here.

This project, led by GAR in partnership with IDH, aimed to uplift independent smallholders in Langkat, North Sumatra, through better access to sustainable palm oil practices.

In its first year, the project worked with three mills to support surrounding smallholder producers. Key achievements included:
• Mapping over 3,000 hectares of smallholder plantations
• Training nearly 3,000 farmers in sustainable agricultural practices
• Forming multiple farmer groups to strengthen peer collaboration

As a result, over 500 smallholders were prepared to pursue RSPO or ISPO certification.

In 2024, GAR, IDH, and Mondelēz International expanded the initiative to train at least 300 more smallholders. The programme closed at the end of 2024, having improved practices in Langkat and built a stronger foundation for responsible palm oil production.

GAR, in collaboration with Nestlé, the Danish Institute of Human Rights ,and the Earthworm Foundation, conducted a labour assessment of four mills supplying one of GAR’s refineries, PT SMART Tbk Belawan.

The project assessed the current conditions and implementation of labour regulations within five Nestle-GAR suppliers located across Sumatra, Riau, and Kalimantan.

We mapped and identified independent farmers and their sources of alternative incomes, and we are now helping them look for partners to scale their farming.