PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – Many are intensifying the integrated palm oil–paddy gogo program, despite its long-term nature. The program aims to boost food production and improve soil fertility in palm oil plantations.
To support the increase in food production, particularly rice, the Ministry of Agriculture, through the General Directorate of Plantation, is encouraging the technical utilization of plantations for developing food crops. One initiative is the implementation of the integrated palm oil–paddy gogo system.
Ardi Praptono, Director of Palm Oil Plants and Various Plants, stated that the strategy involves providing superior seeds to be cultivated in palm oil plantations.
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“Paddy gogo would be always developed in (palm oil) plantations by identifying, socializing, and networking from the planters that would develop it, and they technically have the plantations,” he recently said Palmoilmagazine.com.
But he acknowledged it would be facing issues, such as, the limited areas to develop paddy gogo because the lighting would not be optimal.
This happens for the crown of the tree would get wider and block the sunshine. This would make paddy gogo could not get enough sunshine. Besides, the time for paddy gogo to develop in palm oil plantations would depend on rainy season and the schedule to plant it would be a concern.
“Paddy gogo is different from palm oil in their cultivation. Paddy gogo should be intensively cultivated,” Ardi said.
But paddy gogo seeds would be helped by Ministry of Agriculture. This is different from smallholders replanting program (SRP). It would be fulfilled not only in the areas whose smallholders implement SRP but for those who do not implement SRP.
He also explained that integrated palm oil – paddy gogo program would have the potential thought it would be in SRP only. Based on paddy gogo characteristic, it would depend on light and available water. The potential to plant paddy gogo would be in new planting or SRP areas. “It could be 200 thousand hectares in Indonesia,” he said. (P2)
