InfoSAWIT, MAMUJU — In a Forum Perangkat Daerah of 2024 in plantation sectors in West Sulawesi Province at Grand Maleo Hotel & Convention, Mamuju, Fridayy, 8 March 2024, Head of Plantation Agency West Sulawesi Province, Herdin Ismail told the direction of plantation development heading to 2025.
He thought, the main focus of the 2025 plantation development in the province is about to escalate production of cocoa, coffee, coconut, and palm oil by having seeds and pest control activities. Besides increasing the commodities’ production, there are things to notice.
First, the impact of climate change. Herdin said the phenomenon should be well anticipated in order not to get economic losses namely for the farmers. The second, sustainable plantation development, namely for cocoa and palm oil. He emphasized, in 2024 every smallholder should get Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certificate and related ministry is dealing to formulate sustainable certificate for cocoa.
“In 2025, every smallholder should get ISPO certificate. Besides, related ministry is formulating the program about cocoa cultivation documents that should also get sustainable certificate,” he said, as InfoSAWIT quoted from the official page of West Sulawesi Province, Monday (11/3/2024).
It also needs to develop farmers’ human resources namely about sustainable cultivation. Herdin thought there are some strategic issues to notice when formulating work plans in 2024. The first, the synchronization of target among the central, province, regency/city governments. The second, plantation commodity downstream management. The third, seeds independence program to guarantee the seeds in farmers/smallholders’ levels. The fourth, commodity price escalation namely cocoa, should be the chance to recover the people’s will to cultivate it.
He also acknowledged that to realize the goals would not be easy. There would be lots of issues to face. But by having programs and activities well, he believed, everything is possible by hoping that the forum should start with concrete thing heading to sustainable plantation development, which is, ‘to get the glory of plantation in West Sulawesi’. (T2)
