InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – PT Perkebunan Nusantara IV PalmCo, a subholding of PTPN III (Persero), invited dozens of palm oil farmers from various regions across Indonesia to its headquarters in Jakarta earlier this week. A total of 42 farmers from 38 farmer organizations attended along with the management of the Association of Nucleus Estate and Smallholder Palm Oil Farmers (ASPEKPIR) and were directly received by PalmCo President Director, Jatmiko Santosa, and Institutional Relations Director, Irwan Perangin-angin.
"We are grateful that in this month of independence, we can gather with representatives of palm oil farmers from all over the archipelago. You are modern-day heroes who contribute greatly to the nation through your palm oil plantations," Jatmiko said in his statement on Sunday (17/8/2025).
The attending farmers came from Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Java, as well as Kalimantan and Sulawesi. Over two days, they engaged in direct discussions with the directors, observed PalmCo's digitalization system in Jakarta, and participated in technical training and capacity building in Bandung.
Jatmiko emphasized the importance of collaboration in facing the challenges of the global vegetable oil industry. He noted that Indonesia's CPO production growth in the last five years has only been 1.04 percent per year, lower than soybean (2.98 percent) and rapeseed (6.25 percent).
"Palm oil's position as the most productive vegetable oil could be threatened. That's why we need to manage palm oil more sustainably so that its benefits are maintained," he asserted.
According to Jatmiko, the key to increasing productivity lies in accelerating the Smallholder Palm Oil Replanting Program (PSR). This is because smallholder plantations, which dominate the total area, are still predominantly planted with old trees, resulting in CPO productivity of only 2–3 tons per hectare per year.
"Unfortunately, national PSR realization is still low, averaging below 50 percent per year. PalmCo is committed to expanding and accelerating PSR through various partnership schemes, ranging from single management, provision of superior seeds, to offtaker patterns with company assistance," Jatmiko explained.
Several attending farmers shared their experiences after partnering with PalmCo. Dista Khoesnul from KUD Tunas Muda admitted that his life had significantly improved. "My income used to be barely enough, but now I can send my children to university," he said.
Meanwhile, Hadianto, Chairman of the Makarti Jaya Producers Cooperative, believes that the single management model implemented by PalmCo deserves to be a national model. He stated that his plantation's production has already exceeded the national average. "In the first year, it produced 18 tons per hectare per year, 21 tons in the second year, and 23 tons in the third year. The company's promise to guarantee production has proven true," he revealed.
Similar hopes came from M. Nur, an independent farmer from Aceh, and Andi Akmal from Luwu Utara. Both hope that the productivity of independent farmers partnering with the offtaker scheme will also continue to increase. "Together with PalmCo, partnership knows no bounds," they stated. (T2)
