InfoSAWIT, BALIKPAPAN – East Kalimantan Plantation Agency did socialization about palm oil plantation infrastructure at Hotel Astara Balikpapan, Tuesday (11/06).
It was inaugurated by Head of Plantation Agency, Ence Achmad Rafiddin Rizal and was joined by many related parties, such as, Palm Oil Plantation Infrastructure Team of Ministry of Agriculture, Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA) and the representatives from the regencies in East Kalimantan.
The main goal of the socialization was about to deliver understanding about infrastructure mechanism for every planter. In his speech, Rizal explained that the cooperation was formulated into surat perjanjian kerjasama (SPK) that was signed on 30 April 2024 at the office of Ministry of Agriculture.
"The cooperation would be about to distribute fund from PFMA to improve and escalate palm oil plantation infrastructures in this province,” Rizal said, as InfoSAWIT quoted from the official page of Plantation Agency East Kalimantan, Thursday (14/6/2024).
The forms of the helps would cover seeds, fertiizers, pesticides, post – harvest tools, processing unit, improving the ways, and water management rehabilitation. Besides, the helps could be transportation and agricultural machines to ease the transportation and process the areas by smallholders.
During the socialization, it was told that since 2021 the province got allocation fund from PFMA for many intensification programs and infrastructure development. In 2023, for instance, the fund allocation reached Rp 5,54 billion to improve the ways in palm oil plantations of Koperasi Unit Desa (KUD) Sawit Jaya that laid on about 102,0760 hectares. Nevertheless, some approaved helps, were not handed over still.
That is why it is hoped the fund would be handed over so that the smallholders would take advantages on to escalate their plantation productivity. Rizal also said the challenges in the help distribution, including lots of terms and condition. He emphasized it would be significant to understand and qualify the terms and conditions as the ways to support sustainable palm oil plantations.
“It is hoped the socialization would escalate the understanding and participation of smallholders’ groups, cooperation and other institutions and they would take advantages on the fund from PFMA to escalate their plantation productivity and welfare in East Kalimantan,” he said.
Besides, the changing regulation from Ministry of Agriculture would ease to get help access for planters in the future. It is hoped there would be good coordination and cooperation and the programs to escalate palm oil plantation infrastructures would run more effectively and efficiently. (T2)
