PALMOILMAGAZINE, BANDA ACEH – The Aceh Regional Youth Leadership of Muhammadiyah (PWPM), in collaboration with the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA), recently held the “Palm Oil Micro, Small, and Medium Business (MSMB) Workshop Goes to Campus.” The three-day workshop took place from October 18 to 20, 2024, at the Faculty of Economics at Universitas Muhammadiyah Aceh (UNMUHA).
The event was attended by several notable figures, including the Acting Governor of Aceh, represented by Cut Huzaimah, Head of the Aceh Province Plantation and Agriculture Agency; the Head of the Cooperative Agency; the Vice Chairman of the Aceh Legislature; Malik Musa, Chairman of Muhammadiyah Aceh; UNMUHA’s director; student representatives; and other Muhammadiyah organizations.
In his speech, PWPM Aceh Chairman Zul Hafian highlighted the importance of preserving palm oil sustainability for future generations, noting its status as Aceh’s second-largest revenue source after coal. “As the young generation, we must continue the tradition of palm oil cultivation to keep it thriving in Aceh,” he stated, according to an official release quoted by Palmoilmagazine.com on Monday, October 21, 2024.
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Zul also shared that Muhammadiyah Aceh youth have successfully created three palm oil-based products—perfume, lotion, and soap—and plan to introduce trainings to produce palm-based brown sugar in the future.
Malik Musa, Chairman of Muhammadiyah Aceh, expressed his support by proposing the establishment of a palm oil study program at UNMUHA, with hopes for support from PFMA. “We envision Universitas Muhammadiyah campuses in every regency cultivating palm oil plantations, with regencies providing productive land,” he said.
Helmi Muhansyah, Chairman of MSMB PO PFMA said that this would be the first collaboration between PFMA with Muhammadiyah. “We hope that the cooperation would be the inspiration for Muhammadiyah to develop MSMB in palm oil -base,” he said and continued that palm oil really contributed to the revenue up to Rp 20 trillion per month.
The workshop focused on not only increasing the skills and understanding about MSMB but also be the bridge between the academy world and business. Head of Plantation and Agriculture Aceh Province, Cut Huzaimah said that Aceh Province still designed the special clusters for palm oil (plantations) to increase the exports and get additional values from it.
“We do hope that this kind of activity would reinforce the synergy among the central, regional governments and the stakeholders, and make Muhammadiyah and UNMUHA as the pioneers of innovation in sustainable palm oil,” Huzaimah said.
It is hoped the workshop would be the significant thing to develop palm oil potential and make the economy in Aceh go forward to empower MSMB in palm oil – base. (P2)
