Indonesia to Accelerate Smallholders` Palm Oil Replanting Program
20/09/2023 (Tempo.Co) - Plantation DG at the Ministry of Agriculture Andi Nur Alamsyah stated that the national palm oil productivity only reached 3 to 4 million tonnes per hectare. Thus, the government intends to push for the smallholders' palm oil replanting program (PSR).
"With no innovation to boost palm oil productivity, the future of this industry is threatened," he said as quoted from a press release on Monday, September 18, 2023.
Currently, palm oil farmers only dominate 42% of the Indonesian palm oil industry. This created a huge gap in productivity between palm oil companies and local farmers. Thus the government will accelerate the PSR through the partnership program. "I hope palm oil companies could provide technology transfer, cultivation knowledge, market access, and mapping to smallholders," Andi said.
Meanwhile, the President Director of The Indonesian Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) Eddy Abdurrachman claimed that the PSR program established in 2016 has increased smallholders' productivity. Albeit, he said, the program has not been conducted optimally. Eddy hopes that palm oil companies could support the program by providing 500,000 hectares per three years or around 1,800 hectares per year.
BPDPKS has distributed over Rp8.8 trillion for the PSR program from 2016 to August 2023. This year, the agency has over 17 proposals to be reviewed and seven PSR implementations. "We believe the 500,000 hectares target is attainable," Eddy said.
The Chief of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) Eddy Martono also believed that in addition to the increase in productivity and replanting old palm oil trees, sustainability is also necessary for the success of PSR. According to him, the increase in palm oil productivity is urgently needed, since the demand is bigger than the production.
"Every member of Gapki is committed to participating in the PSR program," Eddi Martono said.