PALMOILMAGAZINE, MERAUKE – The welfare of the Papua community is the primary focus of the Local Government, palm oil plantation companies, Catholic Church pastors, academics, and social and environmental activists. This is because the Papua community, especially in South Papua Province, is spread across various remote areas.
According to the Secretary of the Bishop of the Archdiocese of Merauke, Pastor Jhon Kandam, the livelihood of the community depends on the natural resources around them, such as hunting, fishing, and farming. However, Pastor Jhon believes that despite being based on the surrounding natural resources, the livelihood of the people is still far from prosperous. This is mainly due to the uneven distribution of life education in Papua.
The importance of life education for the Papua community, according to Pastor Jhon, is to ensure a healthier and more prosperous future for the people. He adds that the income generated from hunting, fishing, and farming, although it meets the basic needs of families in Papua, is still insufficient, and there are still families living in poverty.
“The livelihoods of the community through hunting, fishing, and farming are not enough to sustain families in Papua,” Pastor Jhon expressed to Palmoilmagazine.com.
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Pastor Jhon also highlights the cultural differences in farming practices among the Papua community. For example, he mentions the habit of the community to cultivate rubber plantations and earn income from rubber tapping. However, due to the current conditions, the rubber is bought at a very low price by rubber collectors. Therefore, Pastor Jhon hopes for improvements and alternative choices of crops to be planted.
In line with Pastor Jhon, Pastor Hengky Pr. also expresses the need for education and knowledge about palm oil cultivation among the community. This is because the community possesses vast land ownership that can be managed as a source of economic income.
“I hope that through partnerships between plantation companies and the community, the establishment of palm oil plantations will yield profitable results for the broader community’s economy,” he stated to Palmoilmagazine.com.
The importance of community welfare is also emphasized by social activist Rudi Lumuru. He believes that sustainable cultivation practices can improve the livelihoods of the people. Rudi emphasizes that the community must also preserve the surrounding ecosystem through activities that benefit their lives.
According to Rudi, if sustainable palm oil farming is carried out, the community’s livelihoods will improve, and the surrounding environment will be preserved.
“The local community in Papua needs to have economic resources so that their lives can be more prosperous, and the surrounding environment can be preserved,” concludes Rudi. (T1)
