Kesiapan Petani Kelapa Sawit dalam Penerapan Prinsip Sertifikasi ISPO di Kecamatan Laut Tador Kabupaten Batu Bara

Abstract

Oil palm plantations are a strategic sector in Indonesia’s economy. However, to ensure sustainability and competitiveness, the government requires all oil palm business actors, including independent smallholders, to implement the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification system as a means to promote sustainability. This study aims to analyze the readiness level of independent oil palm farmers in implementing ISPO principles in Laut Tador Subdistrict, Batu Bara Regency. The method used is qualitative descriptive analysis with a case study approach involving 30 respondents selected using the snowball sampling technique. The assessment was carried out based on 74 verifiers derived from ISPO principles. The research results show that the farmers’ level of readiness is generally very low across all assessed principles. The highest score was found in Principle 1 (compliance with laws and regulations) at 52.35%, followed by Principle 2 (implementation of good agricultural practices) at 32.58%, Principle 3 (environmental management, natural resources, and biodiversity) at 12.5%, Principle 4 (transparency) at 10%, and Principle 5 (continuous improvement) at 0%. The Spearman rank correlation analysis indicates that there is no significant relationship between farmer characteristics (age, gender, education, land size, and experience) and readiness to implement ISPO principles, as evidenced by significance values > 0,05 and correlation coefficients ranging from very weak to extremely weak. In conclusion, independent smallholders are not yet ready to fully meet the ISPO standards, and a significant gap remains between current field practices and the standards set by ISPO.