InfoSAWIT, MEDAN – On 30 April to 4 May 2024, palm oil cultivation technic training was conducted in North Sumatera Province. It was joined by about 75 smallholders from Regency of Asahan in Hotel Grand Dhika, Medan. It was also part of Sumber Daya Manusia Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit (SDMPKS) development that was supported by Palm Oil Fund Management Agency (PFMA) and General Directorate of Plantation Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) Training.
The training was inaugurated by Secretary of Plantation Agency Regency of Asahan, Kristina Nadeak, and Head of Plantation, Plantation and Livestock Agency North Sumatera Province, Banua Pane. In their speech, the two emphasized it would be important to notice and implement what they would get in the palm oil training to confirm that their plantation productivity and welfare would escalate.
The representative of IPB, Hariyadi said that the training got three classes. The target to get three goals after the training. The first goal, Hariyadi said, would about to escalate the smallholders’ knowledge and skills about seeds, land, and planting preparation.
The second would be about to escalate their knowledge and skills about nursing the pants. “The third would be to escalate their skill about how to control pest organism,” he said, as in the official statement to InfoSAWIT, Monday (3/6/2024).
In a whole, the training would be positive to develop agricultural sectors, namely palm oil in the Regency of Asahan and North Sumatera Province. With the supports from local governments, educational institution, such as, IPB, and the commitment from the smallholders themselves, there would be significantly increasing plantation productivity and welfare of smallholders in the regency.
The training modules were about regulation and policy, seed and plant preparation, area preparation, nursery (for immature and mature plants), pest organism control.
As part of the training, the participants did field visit to PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) IV Adolina to deiver practical insight about palm oil seeds and cultivation in palm oil industris. It started with the opening speech from Manajer Balai Benih Kelapa Sawit PTPN IV Adolina, Mahmud Irfan Lubis and representative of IPB Trainer, Hariyadi.
In the visit, the participants were taken to directly see controlled pollination, selecting and choosing qualified seeds, and know the male and female fruit well. They were introduced about modern machines used to process seeds until the seeds would be sold.
The participants visited immature and mature plants. They discussed about their experiences in their own plantations.
With the supports from the regional governments, educational institutions, and the commitment of the smallholders, there would be significantly increasing productivity and welfare of the smallholders in the regency. The training itself would deliver new insight and ready to be applied by the smallholders to face the future challenges in palm oil sectors. (T2)
