InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA - Asosiasi Petani Kelapa Sawit Indonesia (Apkasindo) and PT Tribuana Solusi Inovasi Teknologi officially signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday (16/10/2024) in Jakarta. It would be about to increase the agricultural data quality by using drone namely for the independent smallholders.
Chairman of Apkasindo, Gulat Manurung and General Manager of Commercial PT Tribuana Solusi Inovasi Teknologi, Nicko Arywibowo signed the MoU. Nicko said that the drone use would help the smallholders to face the challenges about the lack of labor in palm oil plantation. The drone should ease the mapping process and fertilization mechanism.
Gulat Manurung did welcome the cooperation because the independent smallholders faced more comple challenges, such as, European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) even though it could be postponed to run but still, the smallholders should obey.
Manurung thought, EUDR would have three significant keys – the obedience to the regulation, deforestation interdiction, and traceability. “The drone from PT Tribuana would significantly play its role in the traceability aspect,” he said in the event that InfoSAWIT attended.
He also emphasized the the mapping technology would qualify the terms and conditions in EUDR and get the smallholders’ plantation inventory. Besides, the drone would increase the fertilization process that would also increase their plantation productivity.
From the available data, about 68 percent of 300 thousand areas got smallholders replanting program. with the help of drone, they would be easier to cultivate theirs and escalate their production.
Apkasindo would use the drone in every region where Apkasindo operates and the members of Apkasindo could borrow it to map or to get fertilization mechanism. It would be free.
The MoU would cover not only technology provision but also deliver the trainings for the smallholders. PT Tribuana would conduct training of trainer (ToT) so the smallholders would maximize the drone namely by having cooperation with the distributors - DJI Agriculture in Indonesia. (T2)
