InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – The publication of European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) makes Indonesia worry about. Its palm oil products would be difficult to trade in the continent. But CIRAD Regional Director for South Asian Island Country, Jean Marc Roda said, EUDR would be the chance to develop downstream sectors and deliver higher added values in Indonesia.
He thought, sustainability challenges in palm oil industries are not deforestation but in the supply chain. “The challenges in EUDR would deliver opportunities for downstream sectors to get higher additional values in this country,” he said when being a speaker in “International Dialogue Palm Oil vs EUDR, Let’s talk EUDR with Special Attention to Palm Oil” that plantation media and Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA) did on Thursday (24/9).
Meanwhile, General Secretary of Serikat Petani Kelapa Sawit (SPKS), Mansuetus Darto told that from smallholders’ perspective particularly the members of SPKS, there is no problem at all. Sustainable practices by SPKS members showed that the smallholders could qualify EUDR if the government and private sectors support through the fair policies and partnership for them and local society.
SPKS told that the institution did mapping and got 21.000 polygons. After getting conversation and dialogue with many organizations, the total now reached 110.000 polygons. It needs national traceability system to gather smallholders’ palm oil plantation data nationally.
If EUDR is compared to the regulations in Indonesia, particularly about smallholders, there are many things in common. The issue is that have the regulations be implemented or not? It needs field action to implement every regulation. “For example, European Union fair price is the same with the Regulation of Minister of Agriculture Number 1 / 2018 that says, palm oil mills should buy fresh fruit bunch (FFB) from smallholders’ institutions. The reality is that many mills do not do that,” he said.
Director of Plantation Production Marketing and Process General Directorate of Plantation Ministry of Agriculture, Prayudi Syamsuri said, as the institution which is in charge to implement its function and work to develop in upstream sector, Ministry of Agriculture cannot decide to accept or reject EUDR but it needs to get introspection if it has prepared the planters (smallholders) to be ready in traceability.
“It is just about time. Ministry of Agriculture is in its position to develop sustainable palm oil plantations and escalate palm oil acceptance in the world markets and the industries would not be disrupted. EUDR is a wake-up call to improve palm oil plantation governance in this country,” he said. (T2)
