PALMOILMAGAZINE, RIAU – The existence of the Smallholders Replanting Program (SRP ) programme has become part of the progress of people’s palm oil, the support of the Government of Indonesia is needed, in order to build justice for the Indonesian people to increase productivity and increase the income of small-scale oil palm farmers. Because through the SRP programme, the existence of oil palm plantations owned by farmers is the economic wheel of the people in the countryside.
The Indonesian Palm Oil Farmers Union (SPKS) encourages support from the Government of Indonesia, especially in building justice for oil palm farmers in Indonesia. The SRP programme that has been running so far, is expected to be able to make oil palm farmers in Indonesia better.
President Jokowi’s policy to increase support funds for SRP to Rp. 60 million / hectare for oil palm farmers must be supported and followed by easy access to financing for oil palm farmers from BPDPKS funds.
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According to SPKS Chairman Sabarudin, independent smallholders have always been marginalised. Therefore, according to him, the Palm Oil Replanting or SRP can provide a sense of justice for oil palm farmers in Indonesia. Especially the use of palm oil funds collected by the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS), which has so far been used unfairly for farmers.
According to Sabarudin, the use of BPDPKS palm oil funds is still far from the truth, because palm oil funds have not been able to bring justice to oil palm farmers. For example, the BPDPKS palm oil fund support for PSR is only Rp. 30 million per hectare. It is felt that oil palm farmers are still very lacking.
Therefore, SPKS in 2020 to 2021 encouraged the DPR to form a Palm Oil Working Committee. As a result, Commission IV also formed the Palm Oil Working Committee. From 2021 to 2023, SPKS continued to push for improvements in the management of people’s palm oil through an increase in the cost of oil palm replanting and de-bureaucratisation in accessing palm oil funds because farmers were trapped in various requirements.
At that time, Commission IV had agreed with even the Regional Representative Council that palm oil funds for oil palm replanting should be increased in accordance with input from oil palm farmer organizations. But the government did not execute it.
“The BPDPKS palm oil fund for the SRP of oil palm independent smallholders is very insufficient because based on field practice, the need for smallholders replanting palm oil plantations ranges from Rp. 60 million to Rp. 70 million per hectare,” Sabarudin said, quoted from a release received by Palmoilmagazine.com.
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Further more, “The need for funding support from the palm oil fund collected by BPDPKS, is felt by palm oil smallholders to be far from sufficient, so a government policy is needed to increase the support of the BPDPKS palm oil fund to Rp. 60 million per hectare”.
The need for BPDPKS palm oil fund support to Rp. 60 million per hectare, according to Sabarudin, can help farmers prepare their oil palm plantations better. In addition, it prevents small-scale oil palm farmers from being ensnared by debt. Because with palm oil farmers who are already 50 years old, if they are still burdened by debts to increase the shortfall in the allocation of funds from BPDP-KS for oil palm replanting, it will make it difficult for these smallholders.
The limited cabinet meeting attended by Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Airlangga Hartarto and Minister of ATR/BPN, Agus Harimurti Yudoyono, in discussing the People’s Palm Oil Replanting today (27/2), is very good. The Government’s partiality towards oil palm farmers can be encouraged through an increase in the subsidy fund of the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) from Rp. 30 million to Rp. 60 million per hectare.
Sabarudin explained, “Partisanship towards PSR must also be supported by easy access to financing for oil palm farmers from BPDPKS funds”.
In addition, the land legality policy of oil palm farmers in Indonesia must also receive serious attention from the government. Because, the existence of land legality of oil palm plantations of farmers still gets a lot of obstacles. In accordance with President Jokowi’s concern to encourage good governance, the land legality of smallholders’ oil palm plantations should get ease and government services in order to obtain land certificates.
Until now, land legality is still a frightening specter for oil palm farmers in Indonesia. Therefore, the coordination between the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of ATR / BPN led by President Jokowi, is a new hope for the certification of farmers’ land so that they have a Certificate of Ownership (SHM).
“SHM for oil palm farmers can be realised and accelerated by the newly appointed Minister of ATR / BPN, Agus Harimurti Yudoyono,” Sabarudin concluded. (P3)
