InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA - FFB stealing did not suddenly happen. There are many reasons why the crime took place.
Palm oil plantation development would significantly deliver impacts to the economy and other developments in one region. Many people would get the impacts namely in villages for they might involve in planting and nursing the plantations.
When palm oil plantations are productive, the region would also be developing. Palm oil mill would be constructed, there would be places to purchase fresh fruit bunch (FFB) that was produced by the people or smallholders. The places are known as peron or RAM. This would positively deliver impacts for the people around.
The government also plays roles to welfare the local including the transmigrator in establishing perkebunan inti rakyat (PIR), kredit koperasi primer untuk anggotanya (KKPA) which were known as plasma partnership. These were about to escalate the smallholders or people’s welfare around the region.
The income from FFB trade would fulfill not only the needs of life but also for consumptive needs. These made money circle in the regions or villages. It also contributes to the economic progress and development in the villages.
For palm oil plantations get wider and the increasing production, the people’s income also gets more. The phenomenon encouraged new comers to the regions or villages that wanted to be parts of the economic progress, got income by developing micro, small, and medium businesses. The life style of the people would change as same as palm oil development.
Easy and fast money to get from FFB trade created many cases also, such as, FFB stealing. That is why it is critical to get security and watch around palm oil plantation to avoid the stealing.
It is also important to know what factors that triggered FFB stealing to solve the case because it would be a loss not for the plantation companies but also potential to get someone hurt in the society because stealing is a crime.
FFB stealing would deliver impacts not only in materials for the company but raise social issues that might sustain the operational of a company. The main factor that triggered a crime is the easiness to get cash fast. This is something interesting to notice.
FFB management process, starting from the scale to delivery to mill, would be the chances for stealing. Many people open peron completed by scale, transportation, and delivery order to send to the mill(s).
Peron or RAM would get FFB from many sources, including personal. FFB from forest regions or even from the stealing process, without noticing where it derived from. After getting FFB, it was sorted and sold back to the mill. FFB in the peron or RAM is paid in cash. Peron that has delivery order to mill must have the agreement. Peron must get profits or fee per kilogram FFB from the sources. (*)
By: Edwin Leonardo Armay/ Palm oil plantation practitioner
For more, please read Majalah infoSAWIT, February 2024
