PALMOILMAGAZINE, BOGOR – The Smallholder Palm Oil Farmers Union (SPKS) encourages its members to implement best and sustainable cultivation practices. This is crucial as the productivity of palm oil farmers remains relatively low. Collaborative efforts are being made through various sustainable cultivation training programs conducted in key national palm oil plantation areas.
According to SPKS Chairman Sabarudin, the national work plan for SPKS aims to accelerate the ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) and RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) certification, with the goal of training over 1,000 palm oil farmers in 2025. He noted that independent palm oil plantations require support from the government, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture through the Directorate General of Plantations, to facilitate the provision of technical recommendations as a prerequisite for sustainable certification.
“SPKS members often face delays in obtaining ISPO certification because the technical recommendations (Rekomtek) from the Directorate General of Plantations can take up to a year,” Sabarudin explained to PalmOilMagazine.com at the end of January 2025.
The challenges faced by independent palm oil farmers in implementing best and sustainable cultivation practices also stem from the high costs of fertilizers and plantation maintenance, as well as the low prices for their harvests. “Independent palm oil farmers strive to manage their plantations at their own expense, resulting in lower prices because they sell their harvests quickly to middlemen,” Sabarudin stated.
Based on field experiences, Sabarudin hopes for closer support from the Directorate General of Plantations to provide more intensive assistance to independent palm oil farmers. Support for mapping the polygon of farmers’ palm oil land and facilitating the acceleration of land legality is expected to be a joint solution to expedite the PSR process for independent palm oil farmers.
“The government’s efforts to accelerate PSR should also assist and facilitate independent farmers in meeting the necessary requirements,” Sabarudin further stated, “We must avoid legal issues becoming new rumors that frighten palm oil farmers.”
Due to issues of criminalization and intimidation faced by independent palm oil farmers, some SPKS members still experience trauma and excessive fear. Therefore, SPKS collaborates with the National Police Headquarters, particularly Baintelkam (Intelligence and Security Agency), to work with independent palm oil farmers to ensure compliance with applicable legal frameworks.
“Thank you to the National Police Headquarters, especially to the Director of Economic Intelligence Agency, Brigadier General Ratno Kuncoro, Mr. Togu from the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Dwi from BPDPKS, and Mr. Andi from ASD Bakrie, for attending this SPKS event,” Sabarudin concluded.
For your information, the SPKS discussion with its members (January 24) featured speakers from the Directorate General of Plantations, BPDPKS, ASD Bakrie, and Baintelkam POLRI. The discussion was attended by members from Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, West Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi. (T1)
