InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – In every year, Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA) does Grant Riset Sawit (GRS) program. Before having Call for Proposal, PFMA would arrange the researches that would be priorities.
Head of Service Program Division Directorate of Fund Distribution, PFMA, Arfie Thahar said the arrangement of prior researches would be based on palm oil research roadmap in 2016 - 2030 which was arranged prior.
“Palm oil research roadmap would always be update. It is adjusted with what has been accomplished and see the challenges and obstacles in palm oil cultivation which keeps developing,” Arfie said in press conference that InfoSAWIT got, Monday (10/4/2023).
He also mentioned that last year, there were 46 research proposals that PFMA funded. They were from 18 research and development institutions, Universitas Syah Kuala, Pusat Penelitan Kelapa Sawit, Universitas Jambi, Universitas Lampung, Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, Univesitas Indonesia, Politeknik Kelapa Sawit Citra Widya Edukasi, Institut Teknologi Indonesia, IPB University, Insitut Teknologi Bandung, Universitas Langlangbuana, Universitas Gadjah Mada, AKPY-STIPER, Institut Tekonologi Sepuluh November, Universitas Airlangga, Institut Teknologi Kalimantan, Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, and Universiatas Tadulako.
The research topics that got funds were oriented to escalate additional values, productivity, market development, and smallholders’ income, for instance, new material development in palm oil and biomass – bases by getting higher additional values, such as, furfural extraction, bio-aviation turbine, carbon black, bio-lubricants, and other oleo-chemicals.
In the upstream sectors, the researches developed palm oil breeding to get superior seeds to escalate productivity and be durable to Ganoderma disease, and developed food products, woof in high nutrients.
Besides, economic – social studies were developed around palm oil plantations, workers in palm oil industries, certificate to support sustainability, empowerment of palm oil industries as the complete and connected ecosystem one to another.
“Besides, the studies about smallholders’ institutions, and business sustainability in the smallholders’ level, agricultural technology application 4.0 were also funded,” Arfie said. (T2)
