InfoSAWIT, BANGGAI – A long-running land dispute between independent oil palm farmers in Batui District and PT Sawindo Cemerlang (SCem), a subsidiary of Kencana Agri, remains unresolved despite repeated mediation efforts by the Banggai Regency Government.
The prolonged conflict highlights the complexity of land tenure issues in Indonesia’s palm oil sector, particularly where overlapping ownership claims, unclear compensation mechanisms, and historical agreements continue to create legal uncertainty.
Efforts to settle the dispute have stretched over several years, including the formation of agrarian conflict resolution teams by Banggai Regent Amirudin Tamoreka for two consecutive terms. Despite land ownership verification and document validation processes, no final resolution has been reached.
One of the affected farmers, Eli Saampap of Honbola Village, again attended mediation talks with company representatives at the Batui District Office in January 2026, chaired by Batui District Head Umar Syamsudin.
According to Eli, the dispute dates back to the early development of a nursery area in the Bulung plantation complex, when local farmer groups reportedly agreed to release land for nursery operations in exchange for inclusion in a plasma smallholder scheme and goodwill compensation of Rp1 million per person.
However, Eli maintains that the disputed land belongs to her family and that neither she nor her husband ever received the promised payment.
“The original agreement was never put in writing. We began demanding clarification in 2012, but there was no response from the company,” she said.
The dispute intensified in 2015 when farmers sought legal certainty through a written agreement signed by multiple parties, including company representatives and village witnesses. Yet, the company later rejected Eli’s ownership claim, arguing that compensation had already been paid in 2009 under a crop compensation scheme.
Eli strongly disputes that claim, questioning the validity of the compensation documents, including signatures allegedly signed by officials who later denied authorizing them.
The case underscores broader structural challenges in Indonesia’s palm oil industry, particularly concerning land legality, transparency, and protection of smallholder rights. Despite multiple mediation attempts and legal processes, the lack of a clear settlement points to the urgent need for stronger agrarian governance and more effective dispute resolution mechanisms. (T2)
