InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Though palm oil (plantations) deliver tax to the country, unfortunately many ways in districts and even province are broken because many trucks pass through to transport fresh fruit bunch (FFB). It needs strategies of fund to improve the transportation ways because fund allocation in many regions is not enough.

Palm oil plantation practitioner, Putra Rangkuti suggested to take for advantages infrastructure fund from Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA) to improve the ways in districts or the ways to villagers’ circumstances in palm oil plantation centers. Knowing that the limited fund in infrastructure, it is better if infrastructure fund could be distributed to improve ways so that the villagers could mobilize.

“Some parts of ways in District of Simalungun, Labuhan Batu, Asahan are bad. The ways to the plantations could be worse and difficult to get there particularly when it is raining. Eventually, the people, as smallholders, get the impacts,” he said, as in the official statement to InfoSAWIT, Thursday (17/8/2023).

He quoted data from Central Bureau of Statistic District of Simalungun in March, the ways in the district laid about 1808,78 kilometers - 50 percent of the numbers were categorized to be totally broken or 971,33 kilometers. District of Simalungun is one palm oil plantation centers.

He also suggested, there should be, at least, Rp. 1 trillion that PFMA should provide to improve the ways in palm oil plantation centers. The regional government could manage the fund or even PFMA itself. The numbers, he continued, might be not much than what PFMA has gathered that reached Rp. 186,6 trillion.

“I hope, this needs attention and support from the local region where palm oil plantations grow. at least, fund management from one business once ran, for example, from cigarette tax that the fund was allocated to develop (one) regions. It would block the issue saying that palm oil fund was only for corporates,” Putra said. (T2)