PALMOILMAGAZINE, BANJARMASIN – Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) said that one action agenda to develop palm oil in Indonesia, specifically in South Kalimantan Province is replanting program. It needs to be realized immediately because the trees are about more than 20 to 30 years of age that decreased their productivity.
“That is why we are committed to get replanting program in South Kalimantan. It would cover 10 thousand hectares. We hope that the program would increase palm oil plantation productivity for the next two years to welfare the people,” SYL said in the meeting of Membangun Perkebunan Sawit se-Kalimantan Selatan in Banjarmasin, Tuesday, (22/8/2023).
Ministry of Agriculture is focusing to develop governance to make palm oil plantations in South Kalimantan Province go forward as one high economic value – commodity to escalate the people’s economy and in national level. This is one agenda to provide food for Indonesia and the world remain stable though the world is facing the impacts of climate change extremely.
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“Today we got meeting with the governor, police chief, and chairman of regional Legislators to encourage and escalate palm oil plantation development for the world is fond of and would improve the lives of this nation. South Kalimantan has a serious potential in palm oil plantations to develop maximally to produce well,” SYL said, as in the official statement to Palmoilmagazine.com.
SYL also said, the program should run while improving the concept and people’s institutions to encourage palm oil development action agenda. The downstream sectors would be important agenda too in the province. SYL emphasized developing palm oil plantations is not only in replanting program but also downstream sectors. It needs to develop and implement intercrops in palm oil plantations to escalate smallholders’ welfare.
“Of course, it is not only replanting program. We hope that the governor, the regents, police chiefs should encourage intercrops in palm oil plantations, such as, corn, tubers, beans, and others so that the smallholders would not wait for palm oil trees to deliver harvest but their sources of income would escalate,” he said.
Meanwhile General Director of Plantation Ministry of Agriculture, Andi Nur Alam Syah also took every party to get involved and improve palm oil plantation governance sustainably by conducting the government’s programs, such as, replanting, human resource development, and infrastructures.
“Our togetherness and involvement would be the same commitment to escalate the smallholders’ plantation productivity and eventually would deliver the welfare for the smallholders (planters) as well,” he said. (T2)
