InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Many focuses on smallholders for they have lower plantation productivity. This is the challenge for smallholders to keep escalating theirs. Maintaining sustainability in palm oil sectors needs special attention in plantation productivity.

Chairman of Persatuan Organisasi Petani Sawit Indonesia (POPSI) Developer, Gamal Nasir said that the smallholders should focus on developing the upstream sector namely in production chain.

It is important for them not to think of having or constructing palm oil mill only but make sure that their plantations should be cultivated well. Increasing plantation productivity would directly deliver impact for their income. “It even delivers chance for them to get shares in palm oil mill, that would be the same with the era of Program Intensifikasi Replanting (PIR),” he said in an event in Jambi that InfoSAWIT attended by the late of 2023.

Information about good agricultural practices is easly known and seen through internet. The smallholders would easily learn from many sources or groups about palm oil. It is a must to escalate plantation productivity which the smallholders’ plantation productivity is lower than the companies’ one, that is, about 10 tons of fresh fruit bunch per hectare per year while the companies got 18 tons per hectare per year.

By the publication of the Laws Number 18 / 2021 about Partnership, the partnership got more coverage, delivered chance for plantation companies to develop smallholders with the systems adjustable with related regulations. “It is hoped to escalate their plantation productivity and create better partnership between smallholders and companies,” he said.

The government also delivered programs, such as, infrastructures, trainings, and other initiatives to escalate theirs. But there are some terms and conditions to be qualified to get the programs. As suggestion, it needs to consider and ease the terms and conditions so that there would be more smallholders getting advantages from the programs. (T2)