InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA — The government’s plan to expand plasma smallholder schemes to 400,000 hectares has stirred concern among farmer groups, who warn that poorly regulated expansion could spark land disputes and deepen rural vulnerabilities.
Mansuetus Darto, Chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Farmers Organization (POPSI), said the program could indeed strengthen partnerships and broaden economic access—but only if companies first fulfill their long-standing plasma obligations. “If existing commitments remain unmet, how can we guarantee new expansion won’t repeat the same problems?” he told InfoSAWIT on Monday (17/11/2025).
Darto emphasized that the source of land is the most critical risk factor. Many villages, he said, already face shortages of farmland and living space. Expanding plasma by absorbing village land or remaining forest areas would almost certainly trigger conflicts and undermine local food security. Plasma sites, he argued, must be strictly limited to land already covered by existing IUP or HGU permits—not communal lands or forest reserves.
He also criticized the “single-management partnership model,” which often places farmers at a disadvantage and has historically fueled disputes between communities and companies.
Environmental risks add further complexity. Plasma expansion into village forests could accelerate deforestation and biodiversity loss. Replacing food-crop areas with oil palm undermines local food resilience, while expanding monoculture systems increases farmers’ dependence on a single commodity.
To address these concerns, POPSI proposed four key recommendations:
Accelerate the People’s Palm Oil Replanting Program (PSR), whose uptake remains weak. Replanting, Darto argued, is far more cost-effective and productive than opening new land.
Reform bureaucracy at the Ministry of Agriculture and BPDP, especially simplifying PSR documents and reducing approval times. Overlapping land legality requirements must be resolved.
Improve access to partnerships for the Smallholder Plantation Communication Forum (FKKPMS) and independent farmers, who still struggle to obtain financing, quality seeds, and stable markets.
Reduce BPDP funding for biodiesel subsidies and reassess the B50 program. Excessive biodiesel allocations, Darto said, leave too little funding for replanting and farmer empowerment.
He stressed that the palm oil industry’s success should not be measured by land expansion alone, but by balancing productivity, sustainability, and community rights. Poorly supervised plasma expansion, he warned, risks creating more problems than benefits. (T1)
