InfoSAWIT, JAMBI - Chairman of Persatuan Organisasi Petani Sawit Indonesia (POPSI) Developer, Gamal Nasir said that it is important to get synergy to develop smallholders for their plantations are wide enough.
The proof is that of total palm oil plantations that laid on about 16,3 million hectares, the smallholders cultivated about 6,1 million hectares. They consist of plasma and independent ones. The numbers would mobilize the economy in national scale.
Data from Central Bureau of Statistic in 2021 mentioned that crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivative exports increased the most in the past five years that reached US$ 27,6 billion with the increasing 58,79 percent compared to the previous year. “In this case, the smallholders also contributed to the revenue,” he said in the 3rd Indonesia Palm Oil Smallholder Conference and Expo (IPOSC) with the theme “Optimalisasi Sawit Rakyat Sebagai Penghasil Devisa di Pusaran Tata Kelola Sawit Berkelanjutan”, that InfoSAWIT attended, Tuesday (28/11/2023) in Jambi.
On the other hand, he hoped that the smallholders would focus on escalating fresh fruit bunch (FFB) productivity to increase their income and would have shares in palm oil mill. This is important so that the smallholders have sense of belonging in the mill (company) and would have motivation to maintain the supply – just like what the company wants. “The smallholders would be difficult to develop mill,” Gamal said.
Not only that, having good partnership with the company, they could escalate their plantation productivity. For information, cultivation that runs between company and smallholders would be different and the plantation productivity would be too.
“As we know, smallholders’ plantation productivity reaches 10 tons FFB per hectare per year but the companies can produce 18 to 20 tons FFB per hectare per year. By having good partnership, the smallholders could escalate their plantation productivity which eventually escalates their welfare,” Gamal said.
Chairman of POPSI, Pahala Sibuea said that escalating plantation productivity would be the same with escalating smallholders’ economy. That is why it needs good cooperation between both parties with the support from (regional) governments. (T2)
