PALMOILMAGAZINE, BANDUNG – The Indonesian government has taken concrete steps to enhance the capacity and skills of palm oil human resources. In addition to managing programs like the Smallholders Replanting Program (SRP) and infrastructure initiatives, the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA) has allocated funds to develop human resources through scholarships and training programs for planters.
As of 2023, the institution has allocated approximately Rp 435.67 billion, benefiting 6,265 students through scholarships and providing training to 14,929 individuals.
Kabul Wijayanto, Director of Fund Management and Planning at PFMA, stated that the government also prioritizes research in both the upstream and downstream sectors of palm oil to improve quality, productivity, and diversity in the downstream sector.
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“By 2023, PFMA allocated fund about Rp 613,32 billion for 329 research that involved 1.202 researchers and 88 research institutions,” he said when inaugurating focus group discussion with the theme Membangun Kelapa Sawit Indonesia yang Berkelanjutan that Palmoilmagazine.com attended in Bandung, Thursday (7/3/2024).
Kabul also mentioned the research is critical not only to the output but also the implementation and commercial process of the research results to deliver additional values for planters and stakeholders.
Just the same with what President of Indonesia instructed to encourage downstream products, palm oil industries did progress in product diversification. Until now, there have been more than 184 palm oil derivative products, according to Ministry of Industry.
PFMA also supports biodiesel mandatory program which now reaches 35 percent (B35). By 2023, PFMA distributed fund about Rp 162,9 trillion to pay margin gap between market index price of biodiesel and market international price of diesel. The program is the way to get palm oil downstream product in energy sector but also would help CPO price to be stable by creating CPO markets in this country.
But, Kabul said, the challenges and obstacles in palm oil industries still remain, such as, discriminatory policy, negative campaigns to palm oil of Indonesia, namely from European Union.
“To face the challenges, PFMA and related ministries and institutions would keep having legal ways, diplomacy, promotion and positive campaigns to struggle for palm oil industries in Indonesia. By having these, it is hoped that palm oil industries would keep developing and delivering advantages for the country and every related party,” Kabul said. (T2)
