InfoSAWIT, EAST ACEH – Chairman of Serikat Petani Kelapa Sawit (SPKS) Aceh, Abubakar AR would be committed to develop smallholders’ groups to propose smallholders replanting program (SRP) in 2024.

He said the development would be about the making, handing over the proposals to National Land Agency to get recommendation out of business rights and to Badan Pengelola Keuangan Hutan (BPKH) to get technical recommendation out of forest areas.

"We did get complaints from smallholders’ groups for it spent much time in the proposal process. Some of them did not get recommendation for about two years from General Directorate of Plantation. We would monitor every process of the group and be ready to do legal action if any party played games in the process,” he said to InfoSAWIT, Tuesday (6/8/2024).

For the issues that smallholders faced when proposing SRP, he said it would be significant to get accurate information from every related agency in Aceh Province, particularly in East Aceh, namely about terms and conditions to get SRP, the procedures in National Land Agency in the regencies. He reminded it would be important to get good bureaucracy to support the program because it would welfare the smallholders.

Abubakar AR asked for the governor, regents and related agencies to transparently publish the programs of palm oil plantation companies in fasilitasi pembangunan kebun masyarakat sekitar (FPKMS). "We would keep monitoring the program implementation and if it is needed, we would propose to get audience to every plantation agency in the regencies to get official information about FPKMS," he said.

He told that because the on 31 December 2024 would be the deadline for smallholders to get sustainable certification according to what General Director of Plantation Ministry of Agriculture, Andi Nur Alam Syah, ordered in last June 2024. SPKS Aceh, managed by Abubakar AR promised to monitor every process for the smallholders and groups’ interests in East Aceh. (T2)