The activity complies with either one of the following criteria:

1. Has obtained certification at a national or international level that is aligned with internationally recognised standards
2. Provides an IFMP which demonstrates ongoing adoption of all the applicable basic, intermediate and advanced practices, or as many as feasible.

Any or all of the following eligible practices can be adopted:

Basic practices

• Reduce replanting and stand failures through appropriate varietal choice, seed/seedling quality control, correct planting density and timing, to minimise wasted planting material and avoidable input losses (water, fertilisers and agrochemicals)
• Implement basic soil cover and erosion prevention measures where relevant (e.g., buffer strips, contouring/bunds, ground cover/vegetative protection) to reduce soil and nutrient losses
• Preferably use organic fertilisers, if available locally.
  • Monitor soil fertility and crop nutritional status based on local conditions. Introduce best practices to optimise productivity, avoiding contamination by excess nutrients
• Apply an Integrated Pest Management (IPM, Prevention-first) approach that includes monitoring and preventive measures, optimises dose and timing when treatments are needed, and avoids routine/blanket application
• Use practices that reduce losses at harvest and farm-gate handling (timing, handling procedures, sorting/temporary protection) to prevent avoidable waste before it occurs.
  • Simple harvesting and postharvest handling practices can achieve an effective cold chain, extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables

Intermediate practices

• Use structured irrigation scheduling informed by crop stage and monitoring (soil moisture, ET, or equivalent), including leak checks and basic tracking of water-use performance
• Optimisation of farm residue uses that avoids combustion/degradation and promotes circularity.
  • Potential use of residues for composting and fertiliser, biogas, bioenergy, animal feed, paper, insect farming etc.
  • Pyrolysis of agricultural residues to produce biochar.
  • Production of unused oil palm biomass (trunks, empty FFBs, etc.) for fuel pellets and wood substitutes.
• Reduce and optimise raw input demand.
  • Where locally feasible and quality-assured, prioritise secondary or recycled nutrient sources (e.g., certified compost/digestate products) within the nutrient plan to reduce dependence on virgin mineral fertilisers

Advanced practices

• Data-driven, site-specific application (VRA, sensors, decision-support tools, satellite-based monitoring and verification) demonstrably reducing nutrient/water intensity, leakage risk and support waterlogging detection, fertilizer management.
• A waste management plan covering waste reduction, pollution and recycling.
  • Good management of containers of agrochemicals and other residues.
  • Air, soil, and water contamination complies with national regulations.
• Implement an Integrated Farm Management System (IFMS) that consolidates variety/planting decisions, nutrient planning, irrigation planning, IPM, and harvest/handling to systematically minimise input waste and losses, supported by continuous improvement based on performance monitoring.