InfoSAWIT, PEKANBARU – Governor of Riau in duty, Brigjen TNI (Ret.) Edy Natar Nasution announced new initiative to escalate palm oil industrial management and cultivation in the province. Through the strategic programs that Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA) manages, the government delivered golden chances to escalate planters’ welfare. In a statement in Pekanbaru, Nasution mentioned it needs good collaboration among the government, planters’ associations, banks and private sectors to success every program because everything depends on good cooperation and will from every related party.
One main focus from the strategic programs is improving plantation infrastructures. Nasution said, the good infrastructure would escalate palm oil production and productivity. The program would cover way, irrigation improvement, providing stable sources of electricity. By having good and qualified infrastructures, the planters would be easier to get market access and distribute their harvest.
Besides, PFMA also offered trainings and education scholarship to escalate human resource capacity in palm oil plantation sectors to get knowledge and new skill to cultivate their plantations more efficient and sustainable. By having increasing qualification and knowledge, they would optimize their harvest and minimize negative impacts for the environment.
The government has been doing significant thing for the planters, which is, smallholders replanting program. It was designed to maintain and escalate palm oil production and productivity. The candidates to get the program, which is, the planters’ institutions, should do replanting theirs. They are suggested to get good partnership from the planting until distributing their harvests to mill(s).
Nasution also emphasized that partnership should be comprehensive, it should cover many aspects from the upstream to downstream sectors which means, the planters (smallholders) and the partners should have the agreement since palm oil plantation was developed until its trade. It means, the smallholders would be having sustainability and welfare.
"The partnership should cover upstream to downstream sectors and those in partnership should get certainty, starting from the planting to the trade,” he said, as InfoSAWIT quoted from the official page of Riau Province, Monday (6/11/2023).
In this context, it is significant to get the roles from planters’ associations, banks, and private sectors. They are hoped to support the government’s initiative by delivering technical helps, fund, and cooperation to develop plantation infrastructures. The cooperation would be not only in financial advantages but also in reinforcing network among stakeholders, creating conducive environmental business, and supporting economy locally.
Besides discussing strategic programs, Nasution also told that it needs to be transparent in executing the programs. He emphasized that every activity, fund allocation, and output should be announced to the public. Transparency is developed to get trust from the people towards government and related instances, create sustainable programs in long term.
In his closing statement, Nasution also emphasized that it is not easy to welfare the planters (smallholders). And the government could not work alone. It needs good, collaborative cooperation from many parties. In the climate chance and environmental sustainability which become the issues in the globe, the programs would be useful for the planters, local people to the sustainability of this planet.
First thing to do is that Riau Province would get strong basic to realize the goal. By having good cooperation and will, Riau would go forward to realize more sustainable, fair, and prosperous future. Hopefully, the collaborative ways would create not only welfare for the planters but also be the inspiration for other regions to develop the same initiative and Indonesia would always be developing as sustainable agrarian country. (T2)
