Smallholder Registration (STD-B) – Challenges and Strategies for Acceleration

This brief outlines the challenges encountered in the issuance of the cultivation registration certificate (Surat Tanda Daftar Budidaya, or STD-B) at the district level and provides recommendations to expedite the process and promote inclusivity among smallholders in Malaysia and Indonesia. These recommendations include digital or electronic STD-B issuance, increased socialisation, simplification of the process, acceleration of tenure legality clarification, optimising the role of CSOs and maximising revenue sharing funds.

The STD-B was developed to provide local governments with information about farmers’ plots, socio-economic conditions and productivity, and to allow better targeted extension services to smallholders across Indonesia. The STD-B is also a basic legal requirement for smallholder palm oil producers in Indonesia and is thereby a key instrument facilitating the inclusion of smallholders in legal and sustainable palm oil supply chains.

This brief was prepared for the KAMI project, which supports all stakeholders – including subnational governments, large companies, smallholders and mid-sized players – to progress towards and better demonstrate sustainability in the context of EU and consumer country regulations and demands.