DOPPA signs Memorandum of Agreement with Dibiz Global as a proactive measure to meet European Union Deforestation Regulations

MIRI, SARAWAK, MALAYSIA, May 30, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- The Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association (DOPPA) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Dibiz Global as a proactive measure to meet European Union Deforestation Regulations.

According to the President of DOPPA, Napolean Ningkos, indigenous Dayak oil palm farmers in Sarawak state represent a vital source of palm oil fruits to the Malaysian palm oil industry.

“The EU Deforestation Regulations and its enforcement measure in Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence are double threats to the livelihoods of indigenous Dayak oil palm smallholders.

Indigenous Dayak farmers have been a major contributor to the export of Malaysian agricultural products even before independence. Our forefathers worked rubber and oil palm farms to produce what the Europeans needed and there was no problems. Now, under the pretext of stopping deforestation, the European Union wants to restrict imports of rubber and palm oil under conditions which the average Dayak farmer cannot meet.
This is why we perceive the EUDR as a protectionist move for the European rapeseed industry which is not bound by any regulations to show that their industry is sustainable.”

The difficulty for indigenous Dayak oil palm smallholders to meet EUDR demands is the cost of certification that would undoubtedly be a pre-requisite to meet those demands. Third party certification like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has been prohibitively expensive for smallholders whose crop has to compete with industrial operations for rapeseed in the EU.

Napolean Ningkos further stated that “For the average indigenous Dayak smallholder, if the options were to pay for certification with no guarantees of premium prices, or to save that money for our children’s higher education, we prefer the livelihood assurance of higher education for our future generations.

I have expressed these concerns to MEPs in Brussels in a meeting with Lara Wolters and Christophe Hansen which was attended by coffee and cocoa smallholders from other parts of the world. Unfortunately, my concerns and those of coffee and cocoa smallholders from Africa appear to have been ignored as the EUDR became law without consideration for the difficulties of smallholders.

The EUDR is therefore seen as a bully tactic but we are fighting back.”

While the exact terms and conditions of the EUDR are yet to be decided by the European Union, DOPPA saw a need for a proactive move to prevent the exclusion of Dayak smallholders from access to the European market.

“Indigenous Dayak oil palm smallholders represent a stakeholder in sustainable palm oil that is unmatchable. The EU may choose to not understand our Native Customary Rights or our culture and rights to development, but our license as issued by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, is evidence enough that it is legal and deforestation-free.

With this collaboration with Dibiz Global, DOPPA members can stand their ground proudly and demand that we be counted as producers of sustainable palm oil.”

Napolean Ningkos
Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association (DOPPA)
+60 17 858 9973
napoleanrn@yahoo.com