InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA - Indonesia still significantly faced the challenges in palm oil sectors. Many plantations are in the hands of the second and even third generations.
Mula Putra, the Institution Coordinator Directorate of Palm Oil and Various Plants, General Directorate of Plantation Ministry of Agriculture, said that palm oil plantations still faced the issues, such as, the decreasing productivity and disease attacks.
“As the trees get older, the area and the plants start being contaminated by some diseases, suchas, blas disease, bud rot syndrome, Ganoderma and Gusarium oxysporum that made yellowish lines on the leaves. This kind of disease mostly comes up in the replanting program after five years,” Mula said in Diskusi Keberlanjutan Biodiesel mengangkat tema “Mewujudkan Kemitraan Petani dan Industri Biodiesel dalam Pengembangan Biodiesel Sawit untuk Kesejahteraan Petani Sawit”, Thursday (24/10/2024) that InfoSAWIT attended in Jakarta.
The diseases mostly attacked when the plantations are more than 25 years and should get replanting program
Besides, it always happened to see the low implementation of good agricultural practices, and limited qualified human resources. “The planters’ human resources both individual and institutional, are limited in their capacity and skills,” he said.
Besides, many smallholders’ plantations did not qualify the legal aspects, such as, land certificate, cultivation documents, and Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certificate. Some of their plantations were indicated in forest regions that multiplied the complex issue about the legal and sustainability in plantation business.
The other issues about smallholders’ plantations were about the lack of mechanism process and long supply chain process. These made the FFB yield low and delivered impacts for the decreasing income. The government would plant to encourage the side product – advantages which were not optimal yet.
To solve these, the government would encourage SRP to improve unproductive plantations, would improve the infrastructures, intensify the plantations, and provide better. These would be the same action by increasing their capacity through scholarship and trainings for the planters.
Getting data through cultivation document, he continued, would improve FFB governance and the smallholders’ income. The government would encourage intercrops and take advantages on palm oil to multiply their income as well.
Mula Putra was optimist that by these, the smallholders’ plantation productivity could be reaching 30 - 40 tons FFB per hectare with the yield about 23 - 25%. It is hoped to support palm oil biodiesel program and escalate their welfare in Indonesia. (T2)
