PALMOILMAGAZINE, BANDA ACEH – The Plantation and Agriculture Agency of Aceh Province announced that approximately 50,000 hectares of smallholders’ palm oil plantations have been replanted through the Smallholders Replanting Program (SRP), which began in 2018. The initiative aims to enhance plantation productivity for smallholders in the region.
Azanuddin Kurnia, Secretary of the Aceh Province Plantation and Agriculture Agency, noted that the total area of palm oil plantations in the province is around 263,000 hectares, with company-operated plantations covering approximately 220,000 hectares. “Since 2018, about 50,000 hectares of smallholders’ plantations have been replanted,” he stated, as reported by Palmoilmagazine.com on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
The program is funded by the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PO PFMA), which also supports the development of smallholders following a shift in authority from provincial and city/regency levels to the central government in recent years.
Also Read: Smallholders Replanting Program (SRP) Sees Growth Amid Calls for Increased Funding
“In addition to the SRP, the PO PFMA is involved in other initiatives, such as improving production methods, providing agricultural tools, and proposing the construction of mini palm oil mills by various groups. However, the last proposal has not yet received approval,” he added.
Furthermore, the agency encourages smallholders with less than 25 hectares to register their land to obtain cultivation documents, while those with more than 25 hectares should secure business rights. These cultivation documents are crucial for obtaining the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification, which signifies adherence to sustainable practices in the palm oil industry.
Azanuddin also mentioned, of 263 thousand hectares smallholders’ plantation in the province, only about 10 thousand overlays were registered with cultivation documents. Some of them were in Aceh Tamiang, Nagan Raya, and few others. (P2)
