PALMOILMAGAZINE, SURABAYA – The Pekan Riset Sawit Indonesia (PERISAI) 2023, held at the Hotel Westin in Surabaya on October 25-26, 2023, served as a prominent gathering for scientists, academics, and practitioners in the palm oil industry to exchange knowledge, present their latest research findings, and engage in discussions concerning critical issues related to Indonesia’s palm oil sector.
During the second day’s session on social economics, management, markets, and ICT, focusing on “Strengthening the Palm Oil Industry from the Aspects of Competitiveness and Sustainability,” Saleh Mokhtar moderated the event with enthusiasm and intellectual rigor. The forum featured Prof. Bustanul Arifin as the keynote speaker, providing in-depth insights into the palm oil industry in Indonesia.
In PERISAI 2023, there were two informative exposure sessions. The firs one was delivered by Meyzi Heriyanto who is an academy from Universitas Riau within his presentation “Model Kolaborasi Akar Rumput Untuk Penguatan Modal Sosial Kelembagaan Petani Swadaya Dalam Implementasi Sertifikasi ISPO Di Provinsi Riau”. This model is about to escalate palm oil production and quality in Riau Province by involving independent smallholders to implement and get ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) certificate.
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The second one was delivered by Prof. Dodik Ridho Nurrochmat from IPB University with his presentation “Keunggulan Minyak Sawit terhadap Minyak Nabati Lain di Empat Benua”. Prof. Dodik told palm oil mainstay as food material in food and non-food industries in many countries.
Besides the two presentations, PERISAI 2023 also involved respondents to deliver valuable comments, such as, Executive Director of PASPI, Tungkot Sipayung; Directors Expert in Climate Change of Mutuagung Lestari, Willstra Danny; trade negotiator/Chairman of Africa Team, Directorate of Bilateral Negotiation Ministry of Trade Indonesian Republic, Anggun Paramita Mahdi; and Chairman in Foreign Affairs Indonesian Palm Oil Association, M. Fadhil Hasan. They participated in the event.
Meyzi Heriyanto said that collaboration model is the way to facilitate cooperation among independent smallholders, the governments and other stakeholders to implement ISPO standards. The goal is to confirm that palm oil production in Riau remains sustainable and be positive for the environment and the people around. The independent smallholders play the central roles in this model.
“They would be empowered to understand and implement sustainable practices, such as, good land cultivation and environment conservation. Besides, they would get technical support and better market access,” he said in his exposure.
The main hope is about to create sustainable palm oil production in Riau that qualified ISPO standards and mitigate negative impacts for the environment. “By involving independent smallholders, they could reach the goal and escalate their welfare,” Meyzi said.
The event was also attended by research team members and some lecturers from Faculty of Social Politic Science Universitas Riau, such as, Dr. Mayarni, S.Sos, M.Si, Dr. Harapan Tua RFS, M.Si, Dedi Kusuma Habibie, S.IP, M.PA, Ahmad Jamaan, S.IP, M.Si, Masrul Ikhsan, S.Sos, M.Si, Rahmanul, S.AP, and Resa Vio Vani, S.AP, M.AP.
PERISAI 2023 should be the significant moment to discuss palm oil industries in Indonesia by delivering spot to share knowledge and encourage innovation that would form more sustainable practices in the future. This would be the way to get further cooperation to get palm oil industries go forward in Indonesia. (*)
By: Masrul Ikhsan
