PALMOILMAGAZINE, BANDA ACEH – Thousands of hectares of palm oil plantations in Aceh Province have been abandoned and poorly maintained. This situation prompted Serikat Petani Kelapa Sawit (SPKS) Aceh to urge President Joko Widodo to revoke the business permits and transfer the land to local smallholders.
Abubakar, the Coordinator of SPKS Aceh, stated that many companies have not utilized their business rights granted by the government. According to data from Aceh Timur, Aceh Tamiang, and Aceh Utara, numerous areas have been neglected since the companies received their permits, with some areas failing to be cultivated at all.
“It is sad to know that many areas were abandoned while many smallholders were lack of areas to do farm. That is why it is better if the companies’ business permit should be revoked and handed over for the smallholders to cultivate the areas. The areas could be optimized to escalate palm oil plantation productivity and the smallholders’ welfare,” he said, as in the official statement to Palmoilmagazine.com, Monday (15/7/2024).
He also mentioned this would be the same with the government’s program to encourage sustainable palm oil plantations in Indonesia, as it is regulated by President’s Instruction Number 6 / 2019 about Rencana Aksi Nasional Kelapa Sawit Berkelanjutan (RAN-KSB).
“The government wants to sustainably cultivate palm oil plantations by confirming that they would be optimizing the areas, delivering rights of cultivation for smallholders to solve the areas cultivation which was abandoned and would support RAN KSB,” he said.
He also said SPKS Aceh would deliver official documents for President Joko Widodo, Minister of Environment and Forestry, and Minister of Agrarian Affairs/National Land Agency about the proposal. The institution would fight for the independent smallholders’ welfare in Aceh by helping verify thousand hectares of palm oil plantations that their status should be reviewed.
“We want that the independent smallholders developed by SPKS would have palm oil plantations just like others do to be welfare,” Abubakar said. (P2)
