InfoSAWIT, BENGKULU— The government's commitment to improving the quality of human resources (HR) in oil palm plantations has again been realized through an intensive training program for oil palm farmers in Bengkulu Province. This program is the result of synergy between the Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP), the Directorate General of Plantations of the Ministry of Agriculture, and PT Citra Widya Education (CWE) as the activity implementer.
Held for five days, from 19 to 23 May 2025, this training targets 123 farmers from North Bengkulu Regency and Seluma Regency, with details of 60 participants from North Bengkulu Regency for Oil Palm Cultivation Training.
Then, 33 participants from Seluma Regency for Oil Palm Cultivation Training, and 30 participants from North Bengkulu Regency for Harvest and Post-Harvest Training.
The main focus of the training is to improve farmers' technical knowledge and skills in accordance with the principlesGood Agricultural Practices(GAP) and sustainable governance. The hope is that farmers will not only be able to manage their gardens more efficiently, but also increase production and welfare.
"Around 42% of the total 16.38 million hectares of oil palm land in Indonesia is managed by independent and plasma farmers. This means that around 6.7 million hectares are in the hands of smallholder farmers. The state should be present to provide assistance," said Ahmad Mahfud, Operational Manager of Business Development of PT CWE in an official statement received InfoSAWIT, Tuesday (20/5/2025).
He added that this training is a concrete step towards national energy and food independence by strengthening the capacity of farmers.
Not only in class, participants will also make field visits to the company's palm oil plantations to see firsthand the best practices of plantation management. The speakers come from experienced practitioners, so the material provided is applicable and contextual.
Head of the North Bengkulu Regency Plantation Service, Desmon Siboro, emphasized the importance of transforming farming methods. "We want farmers to shift from traditional planting habits to standardized and science-based cultivation," he said. He also revealed that the area of community oil palm plantations in his area reached 96,000 hectares, but productivity was still below 7 tons per hectare per year — far from optimal potential.
In line with that, the Head of the Seluma Regency Agriculture Service, Arian Sosial, reminded participants to really use this training as a forum to find solutions to challenges in the field. "Don't just be present physically, but also be present in mind and spirit," he said.
Meanwhile, from the provincial level, Hidayatullah as Secretary of the Food Crops, Horticulture, and Plantation Service of Bengkulu Province expressed his appreciation for this activity. "This is an important moment to refresh the technical knowledge of oil palm farmers. Sometimes, even though they have been planting for a long time, the method used is not necessarily correct," he said.
PT CWE also emphasized the importance of the domino effect of this training. The hope is that participants can become agents of change in their respective communities by passing on the knowledge they have gained to other farmers.
Through this activity, the government and partners hope to be able to build a more productive, sustainable, and prosperous community palm oil ecosystem. A strategic step in responding to the challenges of the plantation sector while strengthening the foundation of national energy and food security. (T2)
