The international event gathered 50 students originating from:

• Universitas Sumatera Utara - Indonesia,
• Universitas Jambi - Indonesia,
• University of Tasmania – Australia,
• Prince of Songkla University - Thailand.

The students attended conferences about various topics such as:

• Deforestation,
• How to improve sustainable management among smallholders,
• Inclusive palm oil supply chains.

The international group was busy following several field visits to oil palm plantations and mills, and to wildlife reserves in North Sumatra.

“Exposing international students to the realities of oil palm cultivation is always an eye-opener”, notes Alain RIVAL, coordinator of the TALENT Programme. “The sector is at the crossroad of over-opinionated debates which are not always supported by facts and evidence on the ground.”

TALENT is deeply connected to the CSSPO Network   

CSSPO (Consortium Studies on Smallholders Palm Oil) is animated by researchers from three Indonesian universities (Universitas Sumatera Utara, Universitas Jambi and Universitas Malikussaleh), one university from Malaysia (Universiti Putra Malaysia) and one from Thailand (Prince of Songkla University). Challenges and opportunities associated with sustainability issues in agriculture – particularly in regard to smallholders – are the heart of the CSSPO research agenda.

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