development 5. The national and county-based working groups should facilitate equitable
relationships and partnership models between new concession holders and smallholders outgrowers. This work can build upon the efforts of the IFCs Liberian Model
Concession Framework Project Oil Palm and Rubber cited in Annex B. This initiative will need a great deal of careful planning and coordination given the wide gaps in
technology, germ plasm, and agronomic practices between current oil palm smallholders in Liberia and the new concession companies. Some of the key themes to pursue include:
• Appropriate outgrower organizational models ie.,cooperatives, shareholders, etc.
• Effective smallholder plantation establishment models loans, grants, land as
collateral, etc. •
Provision of seedlings, technical assistance, skills and management training.
6. Potential Funding and Program Support Opportunities
During the visit, in consultation with the individuals and organizations indicated in Annex A, the Advisor identified several potential sources of funding and program
support for the proposed recommendations:
1. Private Sector The private sector companies that are negotiating with the Government of Liberia to firm
up their oil palm concession agreements can demonstrate their commitments to sustainable oil palm and the RSPO P C by providing personnel and capital support to
the national and county-based initiatives described previously. These companies will be required to contract with independent third-party assessment teams to conduct HCV
assessments and management plans of their concessions. In order to meet RSPO guidelines, they will eventually need to finance internationally-accredited certification
agencies to conduct the inspections of their operations.
Therefore, it will be in the long-term self interest of these companies to support the national and county-level sustainable oil palm initiatives proposed in this paper. The
companies can create positive precedents of multi-stakeholder engagement by developing MOUs and contracts with NGOs and other service providers. Equatorial Palm Oil has
indicated that it is prepared to support such collaboration immediately. 2. NORAD Southeast Liberia REDD Initiative
The second traunche of FFIs NORAD Southeast Liberia Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation REDD initiative can include a modest amount of
start up funding for the Sinoe County-based sustainable oil palm pilot initiative described above. NORAD funds could cover salaries, consulting fees, and field assessment costs.
3. Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil RSPO 2
The RSPO Secretariat may have some limited funds available to support the launching of the national-level sustainable oil palm initiative described above. FFI and CI can
facilitate this process through their active involvement in the RSPO. FFIs Senior Advisor for Sustainable Palm Oil Thomas Fricke and CIs Senior Scientist Tim Killeen,
co-chair of the RSPO GHG Working Group, can take the lead in this effort.
4. World Bank and IFC Liberia Missions The World Bank and IFC missions in Liberia have been actively engaged in promoting
palm oil in Liberia, through initiatives such as the IFC Model Concession Framework Project Oil Palm and Rubber and the Review of the Oil Palm Sector in Liberia in 2008.
The advisor was unable to meet with World Bank or IFC representatives during his visit as the pertinent people were attending an IFC Palm Oil Consultative Workshop in Ghana
at the time. For the time being, the IFC has suspended further investments in the oil palm sector globally, due to environmental concerns about their oil palm lending portfolio in
Indonesia. The consultation in Ghana was one in a series of global meetings to revise and realign the IFCs portfolio. However, the IFC is still actively involved in the sector
through its Biodiversity and Agricultural Commodities BACP Program see below. There are positive indications that the IFC will resume investments in the oil palm sector
by the end of 2010.
5. USAID Global Development Alliance GDA During the field visit, FFI-Liberia, CI-Liberia and the advisor visit USAID-Liberia and
met with Donald C. Homer, Team Leader of the Economic Growth Office, and his soon to be successor, Vickie A. Sigman, AgricultureEnterprise Development Advisor of the
Economic Growth Office. They expressed a potential interest in considering a concept for a Global Development Alliance GDA Public-Private Partnership project on the
theme of sustainable palm oil. This international program of USAID is managed from their headquarters in Washington DC and accessible through the following website:
http:www.usaid.govour_workglobal_partnershipsgda The partnerships typically
involve one or more private sector companies and one or more NGO or government agencies and require matching funds. The actual projects are administered by the field
missions. In order to move forward, FFI and CI should devise a viable concept and approach one or more private sector andor government agencies to partner with in
Liberia.
6. IFC Biodiversity and Agricultural Commodities BACP Program In April 2009, FFI became one of the first grantees of the RSPO-sponsored International
Finance Corporations’s IFC Biodiversity and Agricultural Commodities Programme BACP. FFIs project aims to support sustainable palm oil production through landscape-
level assessments of High Conservation Value Forest HCVF in three districts of Indonesia. FFI has created a multi-stakeholder initiative in West Kalimantan and Papua
with additional funding support from the Cargill-FFI Partnership and others. The project mobilizes local government agencies, palm oil companies, NGOs and local communities
to identify and assess HCVFs at concession and landscape levels. The project also involves a number of oil palm plantation companies that are members of the RSPO. The
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results will be incorporated into district level spatial plans and policies to create a supportive framework for biodiversity conservation of tropical forests, peatlands, and
endangered species habitats.
The BACP is still soliciting proposals for its sustainable palm oil portfolio. However, current guidelines restrict the geographic areas to Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria in
Africa. They indicate a preference to working with existing grantees, so FFI may have an advantage in this matter. It may be possible to persuade BACP that Liberia poses a
unique funding opportunity given its substantial forest resources and the large scale of current developments involving several major RSPO members. FFI will make an enquiry
in this matter to see if a potential opening may exist for submitting a proposal for Liberia.
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ANNEXES: Annex A: Individuals and Organizations Consulted
Annex B: Additional Publications and Resources Annex C: Latest Developments in Sustainable Palm Oil and the Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil RSPO
Annex D: Field Visit Photographs
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Annex A: Individuals and Organizations Consulted
1. Moses Wogbeh, Managing Director, Forestry Development Authority FDA, Monrovia
