PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – As part of a strategic initiative to build a competitive and professional young workforce in the palm oil sector, Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture, through the Directorate General of Plantations, in collaboration with the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP), officially launched the 2025 Palm Oil Plantation Human Resource Development Scholarship Program (SDMPKS) on Thursday (May 16).
The inaugural outreach event drew strong public interest, with over a thousand participants joining via Zoom and many more tuning in through a live broadcast on the Directorate General of Plantations’ YouTube channel.
For 2025, the program aims to award scholarships to 4,000 new students, in addition to 5,000 continuing recipients still enrolled in the program.
According to Mohammad Alfansyah, Director of Fund Distribution at BPDP, the scholarship is a key component of the government’s long-term commitment to enhancing the quality of human resources in the palm oil industry.
“This program goes beyond tuition support. It includes training, extension services, and mentoring. Our goal is to equip future graduates with the skills and knowledge to become leading contributors to sustainable palm oil development across Indonesia,” he said, as quoted by Palmoilmagazine.com from the official website of Ditjenbun.
The SDMPKS program partners with 41 accredited higher education institutions across the country—from Aceh to Papua—and offers study opportunities at the D1 to S1 (Bachelor’s) levels. Recipients receive a comprehensive support package, including tuition waivers, living stipends, book allowances, round-trip transportation, and professional certification fees.
Ardi Praptono, Director of Palm Oil and Various Palmae Crops, emphasized the vital role of education institutions in producing a skilled and resilient workforce. He called for proactive support from local education offices and high schools in disseminating information about the scholarship to students and families in palm oil-producing regions.
“This program is backed by solid legal foundations—Ministerial Regulation No. 05/2025 and Decree of the Director General of Plantations No. 40/2025—and covers 15 study programs across various types of institutions, including academies, polytechnics, colleges, and universities,” Ardi explained.
The scholarship targets a broad range of beneficiaries:
- Independent palm oil farmers and their families
- Workers in the palm oil sector and their families
- Officials in farmer organizations and associations
- Extension officers and civil servants working in palm oil-related roles
Eligibility requirements include:
- A maximum age of 23 years
- A minimum academic score of 7.0 on the school report card (or GPA of 2.75 for diploma graduates)
- Applicants from underprivileged backgrounds
- In designated areas, the academic threshold is slightly adjusted (minimum score of 6.0 or GPA of 2.5)
The selection process involves several stages: administrative screening, interviews, academic testing, and final verification. Alfansyah also urged applicants not to delay their registration and to choose their study programs carefully based on their interests and industry needs.
With this initiative, the government seeks to strengthen the palm oil industry by regenerating the farmer population and producing a new generation of technically capable professionals, while expanding access to higher education for youth from rural and economically disadvantaged regions.
Online registration will be open from May 17 to May 31, 2025, through the official website: www.beasiswasdmsawit.id. (A3)
