PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – Regional Head Plantation of PT Sampoerna Agro Tbk, Eldi Nuzan, shared his views on the challenges and strategies of implementing a smallholder replanting program in Indonesia. With approximately 16.3 million hectares of palm oil plantations in the country, increasing productivity is crucial.
“This is essential due to rising labor costs and other cultivation needs,” Eldi stated during his speech at the 2024 National Planter Seminar of Indonesia (SNPI) themed “Implementing the Latest Innovations to Increase Palm Oil Productivity and Achieve Sustainable Palm Oil” on Wednesday, May 16, 2024, as reported by Palmoilmagazine.com in Jakarta.
He further explained that the main challenge in the replanting program is the varying ages of plantations, necessitating replanting efforts. Only 30 percent of the 1.1 million-hectare target has been achieved, equating to about 300,000 hectares. This disparity is attributed to legal issues surrounding smallholder plantations and the limited availability of superior seeds.
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“The factors that have something to do with palm oil plantation productivity could be genetic. It contributed 30 percent; the application of fertilizers contributed 60 percent. That is why it needs good control to escalate plantation productivity,” he said.
Eldi continued that the replanting program would be the mainstay of new planting because the infrastructure and tissue techniques are available. It is hoped that replanting would increase crude palm oil productivity more than new planting.
In fact, he said, there are some replanting methods used, such as chipping, burial systems, and a combination of the two. Each method has its pluses and minuses.
Spead chipping, for instance. In the beginning, it was taken as the most efficient way to spend about Rp 6 million per hectare, but it potentially caused diseases such as orcytes and others.
Cut off the tree and chip the rest of the tree, which was taken as the cheapest one, but it is highly risky to get pest attacks, such as oryctes.
The burial system involves digging 3–4-meter holes to bury the rest of the tree as a whole. Though it would cost about 16.8 million rupiah per hectare, this method is believed to cut off the costs of controlling pests and using chemical materials up to Rp 11 million per hectare.
“It has to be realized. It costs a lot to cut off and bury the rest of the trees,” he said. (T2)
