Getting to Know You: GPSNR’s First Smallholder International Call

Share This Post

13 August 2020 – Kliwon is a natural rubber smallholder from Jambi Province, Indonesia, whose work with natural rubber started in the 80s. This evening, however, he’s doing something quite different from his usual rubber farming activities. Dressed in a light brown shirt of traditional Indonesian batik, Kliwon’s wiry frame and distinct head of white hair is visible on the computer and mobile phone screens of over 20 other natural rubber smallholders from around the world. He is one of the participants in GPSNR’s first international call for smallholder members to prepare them for the upcoming General Assembly.

At 68, Kliwon is one of the more experienced smallholder members in GPSNR. Today, he is being joined by other smallholders. Some, like H Nasoro Nie, a fresh-faced young lady from Vietnamese province of Dak Lak, are as young as 24, almost one third Kliwon’s age. Despite the difference in years, these smallholders all have something in common. They recognize the increasing importance of a sustainable global natural rubber value chain, and are actively participating in efforts to transform the industry.

It is the first time that the smallholders are meeting each other on an international level. Prior to this, they have been engaged in national level calls, making their presentations to their fellow natural rubber farmers from the same country. More than 20 natural rubber smallholders are present on the call – a handful are unable to join as they live in remote locations where access to the internet is not always a given. Unfortunately, the four smallholders from Myanmar are unable to connect due to heavy flooding in the areas where they live.

As with any meet-and-greet, communication is of paramount importance, and this includes being able to understand and be understood regardless of the language you speak. Here, five foreign languages come into play: Bahasa Indonesia, French, Myanmar, Thai and Vietnamese. Using Zoom’s in-built interpretation feature, the smallholders are able to access special audio channels within the meeting, where they can hear everything that is said, interpreted into their local language. Thanks to sustained funding from Partnerships for Forests (P4F), a UK aid funded program, GPSNR was able to engage interpreters to perform this simultaneous interpretation remotely. The funds were also channeled to the appointment of Transitions, a sustainable development consultancy agency, who is facilitating the international sessions with smallholders.

The call begins with opening remarks by GPSNR Director Stefano Savi, followed by a quick runthrough of the agenda and an overview of the global natural rubber market. 

Then, the smallholders start to introduce themselves. We hear from those from Indonesia, then Thailand, Vietnam, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Brazil. They share about the size of their natural rubber plantations, their activities around rubber farming. Many of them are actively involved in the natural rubber scene in their country, from Baroan Roland, who is the Chairman of the Association of Natural Rubber Producers of Côte d’Ivoire (APROCANCI) to Thailand’s Soontorn Rakrong, who has been involved in initiating dialogue with the Thai government for policy development around fair tenure and land use rights. As one smallholder speaks in their native language, the interpreter interprets, in real-time, their words into English for the rest of the participants. The other interpreters, picking up the English interpretation, convey it to the other smallholders in their respective native languages.

All too soon, two hours fly by. There is just enough time for a short Question and Answer segment. At the end of the night, it’s clear that the smallholders are excited to have more opportunities to get to know each other and further discuss the issues around natural rubber that they all similarly share regardless of geography. —

The 2nd GPSNR Smallholder International Call will take place on 27 August 2020.

More To Explore

News

GPSNR Working Groups Update: June 2021

What a month it has been! Here is a deep dive into working groups’ updates and progress:

Strategy and Objectives Working Group

With the finalisation of the Environmental risk assessment of natural rubber production and processing study, this working group has reviewed over 300 pages of environmental risks in the production and processing roles in the natural rubber supply chain. Additionally, the group also identified 16 countries as GPSNR priority production countries. Most importantly, the report covers outcomes and recommendations to mitigate these risks. While you can find the full report here, the co-chairs of the working group will soon be hosting a webinar to take members through the key recommendations and findings. Stay tuned!

The group has also worked on the first draft of the GPSNR Theory of Change, a complex yet interesting piece of work which fits in various pieces of the GPSNR puzzle. You can find it here. A Theory of Change workshop is also being planned on 5th August from 7-10pm SGT. Should you be interested in joining, please write to the secretariat. 

Smallholder Representation Working Group 

Due to the COVID-19 situation in Cambodia and India, the smallholder representation working group has had to postpone onboarding workshops for smallholders in the two countries that were planned for June 2021. 

These workshops would be the first onboarding after the recent smallholder satisfaction survey, and will take into account its key findings. You can read more about the survey and its results in the May 2021 newsletter here

The working group has also identified Sri Lanka and Liberia as two new countries for GPSNR outreach and will initiate strategies around the same, and have began outreach to new smallholders in existing countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana and Ivory Coast)

The second Smallholders International Call of 2021 was also held on 24 June, where smallholder representatives shared and discussed key Working Group updates, as well as the newly-launched GPSNR Grievance Mechanism.

Policy Toolbox Working Group 

After 12 focus group calls and corresponding surveys for the Implementation Guidance and Reporting Requirements, this working group is now finalising these two crucial pieces of work. At the same time, the group is also working on refining and finalising the development of the Compliance Panel operations guidance with an experienced consultant. 

Capacity Building Working Group 

The group is preparing to rollout a call for funding for immediate capacity building needs in Thailand, Indonesia and the Ivory Coast next month. The Ivory Coast and Indonesia national capacity building country subgroups are also preparing to initiate capacity building activities on the ground and these activities could commence from July onwards.

At the same time, the working group is editing and finalising a document on Good Agricultural Practices for all GPSNR capacity building activities. 

Traceability and Transparency Working Group

In collaboration with the Policy Toolbox working group, the Traceability and Transparency working group is developing data collection and reporting standards. The working group also provided draft text on the traceability elements of the Implementation Guidance and will review the feedback received through the focus group surveys.

Shared Responsibility Working Group

After finalising a first round discussion of the problem statements for the natural rubber supply chain, the group has aligned these problem statements with root cause analysis for lack of equity in the supply chain. It has also conducted discussions with different member categories to propose viable solutions. 

The group is now working on proposing potential solutions based on these discussions and will soon present updates to the GPSNR executive committee.

News

Revisions to GPSNR Fee Schedule

The Executive Committee has approved revisions to the GPSNR Fee Schedule. 

In accordance with the terms set out in the GPSNR Statutes, the new Fee Schedule will take effect from 23 February 2021.

To view the revised Fee Schedule, click here.

Scroll to Top