PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – On October 18, 2024, just two days before stepping down as president, President Joko Widodo signed Presidential Regulation (PR) Number 132 of 2024 on Plantation Fund Management. This regulation introduces a major shift in plantation fund management, expanding the focus beyond palm oil, which was previously the sole focus under PR Number 61 of 2015.
With PR Number 132/2024, the management of plantation funds will now include additional key commodities—palm oil, cocoa, and coconut—each of which plays a significant role in national revenue. This expansion marks a positive step toward optimizing and inclusively managing the potential of Indonesia’s plantation resources.
A notable change introduced by this regulation is the transformation of the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PO PFMA) into the Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA). This shift is not simply a name change but a broadened mandate. The PFMA will now oversee funds not only for palm oil but also for cocoa and coconut, with a strengthened focus on sustainability and improving the welfare of local communities.
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The fund management by PFMA would be from the plantation stakeholders that exported the commodities and or the derivative products, and other stakeholders (industries) that used the materials from the three plantation commodities. Besides the institution would get the fund based on the terms and conditions in the PR. The fund would be used to fulfill the food needs, vegetable oil fuel, and plantation downstream industries, replanting program for the three.
It would be significant to expand more commodities in fund management because the government would reinforce its position as the plantation commodity producer in the globe. For the increasing needs on cocoa and coconut besides palm oil, Indonesia would have the chance to dominate the trade globally. But the challenges would be about not to sacrifice the sustainable principles and good environmental management/cultivation.
Just like PR No. 61/2015, PR No. 132/2024 would be about to make sure that plantation industries would operate better, more efficient, and sustainable. But the main difference is that would the government be brave enough to expand more commodities (cocoa and coconut)? This would support not only the economic progress but also reinforce sustainable plantation sectors by noticing the social, environmental, and economic aspects.
The successful implementation of PR No. 132/2024 would depend on if PFMA effectively manages the fund and confirms that every commodity gets the same proportion. Besides, the collaboration among the government, the stakeholders, and the people would be very significant to guarantee that the potential of plantation sectors would be fully realized.
As the biggest plantation producer in the world, Indonesia has to keep innovating to manage its natural resources. PR No. 132/2024 would be part of that, not only to confirm the stakeholders and farmers/smallholders’ welfare, but also environmental conservation as well. (*)
By: Ermanto Fahamsyah /The lecturer of Faculty of Law, University of Jember
