19/07/2012 (Jakarta Post) - Cargill, one of the world's largest agricultural companies, and the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) signed an agreement on the establishment of the country’s first oil-palm teaching plantation on Wednesday afternoon.

The US-based firm said the project, which was worth to US$250,000, was aimed at promoting high standards on the production of sustainable palm oil.

The Bogor-based farm, which is called IPB-Cargill Oil Palm Teaching, will provide high quality training for students on plantation production and management for a sustainable agricultural system.

Angeline Ooi, Cargill’s Tropical Holdings CEO and IPB’s rector, Herry Suhardiyanto, signed the agreement at the IPB International Convention Center (IICC) in Botani Square Mall, Bogor.

Representatives from the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (GAPKI), the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Board (ISPO) and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) also attended the signing ceremony.

According to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), as of July 13, Indonesia’s certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) reached 3.05 million tons or 48 percent of total world production, higher than Malaysia’s CSPO of 2.75 million tons, which equates to 43 percent of the world’s production.

Indonesia surpassed Malaysia on palm oil production in the first quarter of this year.

However, activists often criticize oil palm plantations due to their damaging effects upon the environment.