InfoSAWIT, MAKASSAR – Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) took the stakeholders and smallholders in Indonesia to get involved in person in plantation seed bank system in Ministry of Agriculture. He thought, the seed banks would deliver big advantages to maintain plantation resilience in Indonesia.

SYL thought, seed banks would be significant because the future palm oil would not be processed to be palm cooking oil only but also to be diesel and other kinds of oil. “But to develop palm oil, it depends on what we are doing today. That is why we have to fight for defending our national interests,” he said when inaugurating coordination meeting of plantation seeds, Thursday (16/3/2023) at Hotel Dalton, Makassar.

SYL also mentioned, seeds that seeds banks produced would be having long series of tests to get the qualified and certified ones. It means, in the future, there would be no abandoned areas where there is nothing to get.

“Of course, we hope that the seeds would be in good quality and have certificates. They would deliver fresh fruit bunch for being researched. Do not wait for too long and we get late. We have to move now to get the better plantations,” he said, as in the official statement to InfoSAWIT, Friday (17/3/2023).

Agriculture, SYL thought, is the most strategic sector to improve our economy nationally. It is proven that the agriculture keeps developing though the world is being hit by the same crisis. That is why agriculture is the best sector to be developed to get promising additional values.

“Some percent of our palm oil plantations are old enough and should get replanting program. There should be strategies to intervene unproductive areas. Palm oil could be one mainstay for being contributed to our daily needs,” he said.

General Director of Plantation Ministry of Agriculture, Andi Nur Alam Syah thanked the supports of Minister SYL in plantation sectors for all these years. Andi thought, seed banks are about to escalate additional values and competition for the stakeholders and the smallholders.

“One thing for sure, we have to escalate our additional values and competition through seed banks. In the future, we would accelerate it and alhamdullilah our relaxation keeps developing,” he said. (T2)