InfoSAWIT, PEKANBARU - PTPN IV PalmCo Region 3 Riau Province reinforced its commitment to support the government’s program to accelerate smallholders replanting program (SRP). One strategic action is by continuing certified/superior seeds procurement program for the smallholders.
Rurianto, Head of PTPN IV PalmCo Region 3 emphasized that though the merger happened (PTPN V, PTPN VI, and PTPN XII to PTPN IV), the company consistently does the program. “This year, we would provide 271 thousand superior seeds to support SRP,” he said, as InfoSAWIT quoted from the official page of PTPN IV, Tuesday (20/2/2024).
The program focuses on distributing superior palm oil seeds in some central seeding regions where the company has prepared. To ease the smallholders, the distribution method is still through Sawit Rakyat Online that can be accessed through android phone.
Jatmiko Santosa, Director of PTPN IV PalmCo did appreciate the program and said that the same program would get expansion to Kalimantan. With the full support from the governments, associations, and smallholders, the program is hoped to positively deliver impacts in food and energy security in palm oil plantation sector nationally.
Arief Subhan Siregar, SEVP Operasional PTPN IV PalmCo Region 3 also mentioned that in 2023, the company provided 230.000 superior seeds for plasma and independent smallholders. Since the launch in 2021, more than 1,6 million superior seeds have been sold to many independent smallholders.
But the challenges are still ahead. The fake seeds attacks need solution. Arief thought, PTPN IV PalmCo keeps trying the best to distribute superior seeds so that the smallholders could avoid illegal seeds, just like director of the company ordered.
Superior seeds in many seeds institutions, such as, PPKS 540 and PPKS Simalungun (SMB) should escalate plantation productivity within the fresh fruit bunch (FFB) more than 30 tons per hectare per year. The seeds are available in 7 seeds producers of PTPN IV PalmCo Region 3 in many strategic locations.
Survey by Pusat Penelitian Kelapa Sawit (PPKS) showed that some smallholders were faked by illegal seeds for some reasons, including the fraud, cheap price, and lack of knowledge to get legal seeds. That is why it needs to educate them and providing superior seeds to support the smallholders heading to succeed SRP. (T2)
