By Dieter Holger

German chemicals group BASF SE (BAS.XE) and U.S. cosmetics company Estee Lauder Cos. (EL) have teamed up to help smallholder farmers in Indonesia harvest palm oil more sustainably.

The project aims to certify one-third of farmers in Way Kanan, Lampung, in sustainable-harvesting practices within three years under the Smallholder Standard of the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil, the companies said Thursday. Under the program, growers will learn how to cultivate small plots of land instead of cutting down rainforest for fertile soil.

Around 40% of the world's palm oil production comes from smallholder farmers, BASF said, and the partnership will help the company increase the amount of sustainably-sourced palm oil on the market.

Write to Dieter Holger at dieter.holger@dowjones.com; @dieterholger

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 23, 2019 12:31 ET (16:31 GMT)