Research collaboration with NUS and RubberWay
AR collaborated with NUS Department of Biological Sciences and RubberWay to explore the benefits of pooling AR’s traceability data and RubberWay’s risk data to identify the factors driving deforestation and degradation in the buffer zones of rubber plantations. The collaboration involved the sharing of AR’s specific datasets, which were analysed and used to produce research findings in a PhD study.
Agridence RubberTrace farm mapping pilot and Rubberway study
AR conducted a traceability pilot in Indonesia’s Jambi province to understand the costs and challenges of ground-truthing and farmer mapping. The pilot mapped 1,800 farmers over a 12-month period and collected data on farmer demographics, plot characteristics, and rubber cultivation practices using RubberWay.
Sumatran Rubber Pilot
AR partnered with WWF to develop a joint industry pilot to demonstrate how rubber’s downstream users can work together to make its upstream supply chain more sustainable.
The pilot’s activities include collecting raw material sourcing data, risk analysis of sourcing data, design of intervention programs, and using dashboards for reporting.
Agridence RubberGrow smallholder
training module
AR partnered with SNV to develop Agridence RubberGrow digital agronomy training modules for rubber smallholders. These modules are AR’s first step towards extending our service offerings beyond analytics and data streams, to the tools needed to react to the risks uncovered by the data.
The videos are available on YouTube in English and Bahasa Indonesia.
ITOCHU Traceable Rubber
System
With ITOCHU’s “Project Tree” initiative, developments and enhancements to sustainable developments can be implemented on the natural rubber supply chain. ITOCHU developed a block-chain-based traceability app to prevent the deforestation by proving the raw material source with GPS. Those data taken by the traceability app will be published to the customers on ARDC’s platform.
Water stewardship study for
a rubber processing factory
AR engaged the Alliance for Water Stewardship to conduct an initial assessment of the water stewardship practices of a rubber processing mill in Indonesia. The study concluded with recommendations on how to improve the mill’s water management practices, manage water-related risks and improve water stewardship.
Smallholder Financing
& Rubberwood Study
AR was involved in a series of studies investigating the financing needs of rubber replanting schemes for smallholders in Indonesia. The studies modelled the cashflow for different replanting scenarios to identify the most beneficial replanting conditions and the impact of rubberwood sales on cashflow.