InfoSAWIT, BATUBARA — A total of 61 independent palm oil farmers from Batubara Regency, North Sumatra, participated in a field trip to PT Eastern Sumatra Indonesia Bukit Maraja Estate, managed by SIPEF Group, as part of the 2025 Palm Oil Human Resource Training Program.
This visit marked the culmination of a four-day technical training program on oil palm cultivation that the farmers had previously attended in Medan. The training was intensively conducted by the Agronomy Koompasia Enviro Institute (KEI), utilizing interactive methods and comprehensive teaching aids.
Henry Marpaung, Director of KEI, emphasized that the main goal of this training is to bridge the gap between theory and practice. “By seeing firsthand, farmers can understand how the theories taught in class are applied in best practices on the estate,” he stated in an official statement written by InfoSAWIT on Thursday (June 26, 2025).
Farmers had the opportunity to observe various stages of oil palm cultivation in the field, from seedling, land processing, to care techniques for immature (TBM) and mature (TM) plants.
Franki N. Simatupang, Senior Manager of Smallholders at SIPEF, expressed the company's commitment to continue supporting the capacity building of independent farmers in Indonesia. He cited the company's success in assisting three farmer organizations in Labuhanbatu Selatan, which have now achieved Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification.
“We are ready to collaborate with farmers to support the 2025 HR training program. This collaboration is essential to ensure that farmers not only understand good cultivation techniques but also the principles of sustainability,” explained Franki.
Similar support was echoed by Aandrianto, Senior Manager for the Simalungun and Serdang Bedagai regions. He mentioned that SIPEF has prepared an agronomic team to guide participants at each visit point, ensuring optimal knowledge transfer.
One training participant expressed appreciation for the program, stating, “This training is very beneficial, as what we learned in class can be directly observed and understood in the field. This visit has broadened our horizons and motivated us to improve our farms.”
This program exemplifies a tangible collaboration between the private sector, training institutions, and farmers in enhancing human resource capacity in the palm oil sector. With an integrated approach between theory and practice, independent farmers are expected to increase productivity while applying sustainability principles on their respective lands. (T2)
