Course: Sustainable Oil Palm Production by Smallholders

Objective: To build capacity on best practices in sustainable oil palm production by smallholders and to learn about the main compliance requirements of the RSPO certification process and the global market.

Target audience: technical staff of Cargill's palm oil supply companies and external suppliers of the companies' supply base in Latin America.

The course will run from 18 March to 8 April, with a total duration of four (4) weeks.
The course is designed for 60 participants. Space is limited, so a selection process will be carried out. During each of the four weeks, there will be a weekly module covering a central theme and other associated topics. The course includes access to the Virtual Learning Platform - attendees will have access to the four modules, materials and corresponding content such as presentations, reference documents and interactive forum to share questions, doubts, etc.

Before starting the course, participants will receive information that will provide them with a guide to accessing the Virtual Learning Platform. An introductory virtual module will be held on 11 March to meet the course facilitators and take a virtual tour of the Virtual Learning Platform.   At the end of each module, each participant will have to take a quiz on the content of the module and pass it with a minimum of 70% to continue with the next module and so on until the end of the four modules. At the end of the 4 virtual modules and the live sessions, participants must take a final exam and pass with a minimum of 70%.
For those participants who fail to pass the final exam on the first attempt, they will have the opportunity for a 2nd attempt to take the final exam and pass the course.

To pass the course, participants must have fully completed all 4 virtual modules, participated in at least 3 live sessions and passed the final exam with a minimum of 70%. During the four weeks of the course, a live session (webinar) will be held every week for 2 hours, with experts in the specific topics. During the webinars, complementary information to the technical content of each module will be shared, examples of concrete cases related to the topics covered will be presented and there will be a question and answer session.

At the end of the course, participants who have fulfilled the above requirements will receive a course pass certificate issued by Proforest. Participants who fail to meet the above requirements will receive a certificate of attendance issued by Proforest. The platform will be available for the duration of the course and participants will be able to access it at a time that suits them.

The course is free of charge for participants - however, participants must sign a letter of commitment to participate in the 4 modules and live sessions. The course is supported by RSPO but does not provide a licence to conduct audits or actions that require official RSPO endorsement.

Week 1: Smallholder Certification - Who can use the RSPO Small Independent Producer Standard; How to become certified under the RSPO Small Independent Producer Standard; Smallholder Scheme.
Week 2: Organisational Strengthening - Group organisation and legal set-up; Internal control system; Elements of the internal control system; Role of the group manager; Organisational strengthening and financial sustainability.
Week 3: Social aspects and human rights with a focus on small producers - labour aspects (including child labour, wages, health and safety); land tenure and FPIC; NDPE requirements aligned with RSPO).
Week 4: Responsible Expansion and New Plantations - New Plantations Procedure (LUCA, Simplified Combined Approach HCV-ARC).

Invited participants should fill in this form.

The course is delivered by Proforest in partnership with Cargill and RSPO Latam.