InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – The downstream program for strategic plantation commodities initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) has received full support from the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut). This support is realized through efforts to optimize Social Forestry (Perhutsos) land managed by communities surrounding forests, aiming to strengthen the national downstream sector.
This was revealed during a coordination meeting between the Ministry of Forestry and the Directorate General of Plantations of the Ministry of Agriculture on Friday (3/10/2025), at the Ministry of Agriculture headquarters in Jakarta.
Deputy Minister of Forestry, Rohmat Marzuki, stated that the downstream policy aligns with the direction of forestry development, particularly in the management of Perhutsos, which focuses on community empowerment. To date, the Ministry of Forestry has granted utilization permits for Perhutsos land covering 8.9 million hectares, involving over 1.2 million households across Indonesia.
“Perhutsos land is designated for forest-adjacent communities, most of whom belong to low-income groups. Through this program, they are encouraged to manage the land productively using an agroforestry system—combining approximately 60 percent timber crops and 40 percent non-timber crops—while maintaining environmental sustainability through the use of organic fertilizers,” Rohmat said, as reported by InfoSAWIT from the Directorate General of Plantations’ Facebook page on Monday (6/10/2025).
He added that four of the seven strategic national plantation commodities are timber crops. Therefore, integrating the downstream program with forestry policy is a strategic step toward strengthening a sustainable economy. “This synergy has great potential. Besides adding economic value, it also maintains the sustainability of the forest ecosystem,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Acting (Plt) Director General of Plantations at the Ministry of Agriculture, Abdul Roni Angkat, emphasized that the downstreaming of plantation commodities is aimed at strengthening the value chain from upstream to downstream. Key focus areas include providing and using superior seeds, empowering forest-adjacent communities, developing plantation crops, enhancing the capacity of extension workers and seed breeders, and involving state-owned enterprises in the plantation sector like PTPN and Nusantara Plantation Research (RPN).
“Cross-sector collaboration is key to ensuring that downstreaming truly provides tangible benefits for farmers, forest-adjacent communities, and the national industry,” Roni concluded. (T2)
