Socio-Economic Impact

Prior to the Company's presence, many people in the surrounding communities were rural villagers, relying on traditional land preparation and agriculture.

APRIL has made concerted efforts to transform the lives of the community surrounding our operations, seeking to provide a sustainable future through viable livelihood alternatives. As a result, our social investment and poverty alleviation progammes have benefitted approximately 250,000 people since operations began.

The gross household incomes of the local communities within APRIL's sphere of influence are more than twice that of families living outside. This was one of the findings of an independent study on the economic and socio-cultural impact of APRIL on the surrounding communities conducted by the Institute Pertanian Bogor (IPB) and LPEM of University of Indonesia (UNRI).

Districts surveyed include Pelalawan, Kampar, Siak, Kuantan Singingi, Rokan Hulu, Indragiri Hulu, and Kota Pekanbaru, which are considered within the areas of APRIL's impact and Bengkalis and Indragiri Hilir, which are considered outside.

In the study undertaken by UNRI, APRIL's operations were found to have generated a total income of 184 billion rupiah (US$17 million) in 2004 for the local community through direct and indirect employment. This marked a 38-percent increase over 2002 estimates. The study also showed that by contracting local suppliers in our nursery, plantation and harvesting operations, the company increased the number of people employed by 36 percent compared with 2002 employment figures. It further noted that communities who live in areas of APRIL's influence rate higher on independence, society welfare and society empowerment indices.

IPB recommends that we expand the coverage of our Community Development programmes by developing more incentives for participation. It also suggested that we increase the level of involvement of the village institutions in the planning and implementation of these programmes.