PALMOILMAGAZINE, PALANGKA RAYA – H. Edy Protowo, Vice Governor of Central Kalimantan Province, officially launched a technical guidance program to enhance the smallholders’ plantation data team on Monday, 2 September 2024.
The event, organized by the Central Kalimantan Plantation Agency, took place at Swiss-Bellhotel Danum Palangka Raya.
In his speech, Edy Protowo welcomed the initiative, highlighting its potential to contribute positively to the sustainable development of palm oil. He emphasized the importance of the plantation sector, a key sub-sector of agriculture, for national development. The main objectives, he stated, should be improving people’s welfare, boosting government revenue, and creating jobs.
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Protowo also stressed the need for accurate data on smallholder plantations. Despite the growth of palm oil plantations in the province over the past three decades, he noted that government data still largely relies on estimates.
“Improving data and information about smallholders’ plantations would be the very strategic short term – policy,” he said, as Palmoilmagazine.com quoted from the official page of Central Kalimantan Province, Tuesday (3/9/2024).
The province is trying to develop smallholders’ palm oil plantation database completely with spatial data. This would be very important to support the future policies by hoping that the program would deliver information representatively both in table and spatial (map).
In the event, he also emphasized it would be important to get accurate data by taking advantages on technology as the main support. It is hoped to confirm that every smallholder’s data in the province would get data well.
Head of Plantation and Agriculture Agency Central Kalimantan Province, in his written speech that was read by the Head of Business Development, Empowerment, Institution, Potential Plantation Development, M. Rusan said that the main goal of the event would be about to increase the knowledge and skills to get smallholders’ plantation data and maps. It involved 85 participants, including the speakers from Geospatial and Information Agency, and General Directorate of Plantation Ministry of Agriculture in online session.
It started on 2 and would end on 5 September 2024. It was attended by some representatives from 14 regencies/cities in the province and some smallholders’ plantation data teams from many regions. (P2)
