InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA - There are many challenges and issues to develop palm oil plantations, such as, the environment, the forest damages because of the random new planting, and also the strict regulations.

But of the challenges, it is possible to develop palm oil plantations in the future. The smallholders’ plantations – about 42% of the total plantations nationally – have the chance to develop.

Besides postponing the new planting, the partnership development project is the chance to increase the people’s economy.

To realize the hope, Head Plasma, PT. Hindoli, Joko Wahyu Priyadi told that every side needs to be ready to face every challenge and do the radical changes.

The main – plasma partnership is the way to increase the production and sustainable cultivation because the palm oil plantation companies would develop and guide them (the smallholders).

Joko also admitted that many plasma smallholders’ plantations should have smallholders’ replanting program (SRP) but they do not do it because they are worried about having decreasing income. “Many of them are worried, if they do SRP, their income would decrease,” he recently said to InfoSAWIT.

He, who worked in many private palm oil companies nationally, said that it needs the good understanding about the SRP process.

He gave example that PT. Hindoli now runs SRP. Many smallholders who are not in partnership with the company want to cooperate again but the cultivation and the coordination would independently run. “Since in the beginning, they should deal with the legal and administration; we help them to strengthen the organization so it would be the same with (the organization) in the main company,” he said.

There are about 5 (five) koperasi unit desa (KUD) which become the partners of the company within the members about 2.500 families or covering 4.500 hectares. In the first phase, the SRP would be for about 2.000 hectares and the next years, it would be adjusted with the age of the plantations.

For more, please read Majalah InfoSAWIT, January 2020