InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PO PFMA) signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) about the 2024 Palm Oil Plantation Human Resource Education as the strategic ways to increase human resource quality and competency in the sectors, to realize higher plantation productivity and sustainable palm oil industries in Indonesia.
The MoU involved 23 campuses and educational institutions in 10 provinces with the targets 3.000 students in Indonesia that got technical recommendation from General Directorate of Plantation Ministry of Agriculture. The campuses would be from Aceh, North Sumatera, Riau, West Sumatera, Jambi, West Java, Central Java, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, South Sulawesi, and West Papua.
Head of Service Program Division PO PFMA, Arfie Thahar said that the total fund allocated for the program would be about Rp 498 billion and would be for scholarship that covers educational fee, living costs, books, graduation days, competence certificate, and the students’ transportation from their boarding houses to their campuses.
“The fund would support the education of 3.000 students and cover their educational costs to competence certification,” Arfie said, as InfoSAWIT quoted from the official page of PO PFMA, Thursday (22/8/2024).
Since 2016, PO PFMA has provided scholarship for 6.265 students with the total distribution up to Rp 587 billion. Every year, the numbers got increased with the total fund in 2024 up to Rp 151 billion while in 2023, it just reached Rp 130 billion in the same period.
The challenge to nationally realize crude palm oil (CPO) production up to 60 million tons in 2030 would be massive. That is why PO PFMA would focus on palm oil plantation human resource development. Chairman of Palm Oil Plantation Human Resource Development, Darmansyah Basyarudin said that it would be significant that the universities (campuses) should confirm that the graduate would be having skills that are adjustable with palm oil industrial needs.
Rangga Rahmananda, Senior Analyst of Service Program PO PFMA also said that the institution also delivered technical guidance about the scholarship implementation, starting from the education preparation up to every activity’s report. In the closing ceremony, Sulthan M. Yusa, the officer that formulated the commitment in PO PFMA reminded the educational institutions to manage their scholarship professionally, transparently and accountably. PO PFMA would be committed on supporting to increase palm oil plantation human resources to realize sustainable palm oil industrial development nationally. (T2)
