- Indonesia is rapidly developing its tracking system for commodities, including palm;
- The system is being developed unilaterally, ahead of promises of support from the EU;
- Officials see the dashboard as a way to maintain export incomes for farmer communities.
Indonesia is fast-tracking the development of its National Dashboard for Sustainable Commodity Data and Information. This initiative aims to bolster the country’s position in international trade while addressing pressing environmental concerns.
The European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR), set to be implemented by the end of 2024, has become a significant catalyst for this project. The EUDR will impose traceability and due diligence obligations on a number of agricultural and forestry commodities. For Indonesia, five commodities – palm oil, cocoa, coffee, rubber, and wood – are directly impacted.
Although the EU has promised to provide detailed technical support for the EUDR, Indonesia is pushing the Dashboard independently.
Musdhalifah Machmud, Expert Staff for Connectivity, Service Development, and Natural Resources at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, emphasized the importance of this initiative during a recent workshop in Bali.
Indonesia isn’t facing these challenges alone. Indonesia has been working closely with Malaysia in a Joint Mission to the European Union, facilitated by the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC). This collaboration led to the formation of an Ad Hoc Joint Task Force (JTF) comprising representatives from Indonesia, Malaysia, and the European Union.
The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs has issued two crucial decrees to accelerate the development of the National Dashboard system. These decrees establish the Steering Committee, Expert Team, and Technical Committee for the project.
Musdhalifah, who chairs the Steering Committee, underscored the dashboard’s significance: “The existence of a national dashboard will be very important for Indonesia to maintain the sustainability of our country’s economy. We must not experience a decline in per capita income, especially if we want to join the OECD.”
The National Dashboard is targeted for completion ahead of the 3rd Joint Task Force meeting scheduled for September 2024 in Brussels or Rotterdam. This meeting will coincide with the Sustainable Vegetable Oil Conference initiated by CPOPC.
A recent three-day workshop (June 3-5, 2024) brought together the Steering Team and Technical Committee to discuss strategies for accelerating the dashboard system across various fields. The outcomes will be compiled into a National Dashboard Progress Report, complete with acceleration modules for each technical area.
The development of the National Dashboard involves a wide range of stakeholders, including various government ministries, commodity associations, and civil society organizations. The Steering Committee’s responsibilities include determining general policies, coordinating data collection efforts, supervising and evaluating policies, and overseeing the Expert Team and Technical Committee.
PT Surveyor Indonesia has been appointed as the key agency to develop the dashboard. President Director of PT Surveyor Indonesia Sandry Pasambunahas said that new policies such as the EUDR are likely to be introduced or changed as time goes on.
“Now for that, the National Dashboard is needed to maintain foreign exchange from food commodity exports and agribusiness so that this will make it easier to export overseas.”