Development of agri business in Indonesia is still being challenged by the low welfare of smallholders, even when these smallholders are the front liners of the industry who contribute to the country’s national income. One of the ways to increase smallholders’ welfare is to develop a partnership between them and the companies, which has been done by the palm oil industry in Indonesia.

On October 24, the award ceremony of the “Reading Festival - Asia Symbol Trophy” to promote reading among primary and middle school students under the theme of “upholding the Chinese literary culture and fulfilling the Chinese dream together” was held in Rizhao, China.

On 14 October 2014, the 2nd Woodfibre LNG Telephone Town Hall was held, where participants listened in and asked questions of the Woodfibre LNG team. This is one of the many activities that Woodfibre LNG, an arm of the RGE Group’s Pacific Oil & Gas company, has held to engage with the local community to understand their interests, issues and concerns about the development of the proposed natural gas liquefaction and export facility, located approximately seven kilometres southwest of Squamish, British Columbia, Canada.

On 21 October 2014, the village of Teluk Meranti was rewarded with a grant of Rp 100 million from the community development fund of APRIL’s PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), for being successful in implementing zero burning practices in their areas during the dry season from July to September.

As an appreciation for the implementation of sustainable practices, in early September 2014, Asian Agri distributed premiums of US$ 220,000 from the sale of Sustainable Palm Oil in 2013 to more than 20,000 Plasma smallholders in Riau and Jambi who had obtained Sustainable Palm Oil Certificates.

On September 23, the “2014 Asia Symbol Showcase on Paperboard Products for Food Packaging” was hosted in Landbridge Jinjiang Hotel, Rizhao City, China. Business representatives from trading companies and paper product manufacturers across the country attended the event.