InfoSAWIT, PEKANBARU – PTPN IV PalmCo President Director, Jatmiko Santosa, has affirmed that the People’s Palm Oil Rejuvenation program (PSR) is a crucial element in maintaining both national food and energy security. He believes this can only be achieved through the collaboration of various parties.
“Collaboration can be realized by boosting the productivity of smallholder palm oil, which currently has significant room for optimization,” Jatmiko said while speaking at The 2nd International Conference on Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science (ICAFES) 2025 at Riau University, Pekanbaru, on Saturday.
Jatmiko believes the greatest potential for productivity improvement lies in smallholder plantations. Currently, the average productivity of Indonesian smallholder palm oil is around 2–3 tons of crude palm oil (CPO) per hectare per year, far behind corporate plantations that can reach 6 tons. "The biggest room for improvement is on the farmers’ side. We can all collaborate to increase the productivity of Indonesian palm oil farmers through intensification," he said, as quoted by InfoSAWIT from Antara on Monday (9/1/2025).
To bridge this disparity, PalmCo has implemented several initiatives, including the State-Owned Enterprise (BUMN) for People's Palm Oil Program, providing more than two million certified superior seeds, and implementing an off-taker scheme covering 10,200 hectares. In addition, strengthening cooperative institutions is also a focus. As of 2024, PalmCo has supported the disbursement of funds from the Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP) for the rejuvenation of cooperative partners' palm oil covering 15,321 hectares.
As a result, the productivity of rejuvenated plasma plantations has reached an average of 12.57 tons per hectare, with some even reaching 18.05 tons per hectare—surpassing the national standard of 12 tons per hectare. "The rejuvenation of people's palm oil is key to maintaining the competitiveness and contribution of palm oil to food and energy security. Through this forum, we invite all parties to collaborate and strengthen this initiative sustainably," Jatmiko stressed.
He is optimistic that if the collaboration for increasing farmer productivity runs effectively, not only will food security from the palm oil sector be maintained, but the government's target of implementing B50 by 2027 can also be achieved.
The ICAFES 2025 international conference in Pekanbaru was attended by hundreds of participants, from deans of agricultural faculties across Indonesia, academics, and researchers to students. A number of global experts were also present, including Johan Kieft, an environmental expert from the UN; Dr. Idesert Jelsma, a researcher from the Netherlands; and Prof. Dr. Ir. Usman Pato, a food security expert from Gifu University, Japan, along with academics from Malaysia and the Philippines. (T2)
