InfoSAWIT, PALEMBANG–To accelerate the sustainable palm oil development, South Sumatera province keeps urging and maximizing the replanting program in 2017 by using the fund from Palm oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA).

Governor of South Sumatera, Alex Noerdin said that in Palembang, Monday, as the answer to what the province would do about the national economic progress, and the decreasing exports from the province. Besides, he continued, he would make the Indonesian sustainable palm oil forum in South Sumatera. This is the multi stakeholder forum which the government coordinates.

His side also supported the progress and empowered the smallholders’ institution joining in the unit pengolahan and pemasaran bokar (UPPB)andgave equipments to process coffee, rubber to the farmers’ groups. He also mentioned, to increase the competitiveness in the global markets, the provincial government would keep supporting the certification of geographic indication (GI) to the coffeein the districts/cities having the certain characteristic coffee.

He also mentioned, in 2017 District of Empat Lawang and Muaraenim have got GI certification for robusta coffee. Then there was action to increase the plantation productivity through the coffee, and pepper intensification program, the replanting program for rubber and palm oil, developing organic coffee, and the people’s sugarcane plantation.

Meanwhile the mainstay sectors in the province, such as, agriculture, plantation, forestry, energy and mineral resources, tourism, sea and fishery, and trade, he continued, would be the prior to development program.

But knowing the financial condition at this moment, the province could not optimally allocate the budget through the Regional Budget. “We keep trying and seeking the financial suppport to the mainstay sectors, sucha as, from the National Budget and the private,” he said, as quoted from Antara Sumsel. (T3)