PALMOILMAGAZINE, SOUTHEAST SULAWESI — Southeast Sulawesi ranks as the third-largest oil palm-producing province in Sulawesi, with approximately 59,000 hectares of plantations, according to 2023 data from the Provincial Plantation Office. These plantations span several districts, including Konawe, Kolaka, Muna, North Konawe, West Muna, Bombana, and East Kolaka.
The province’s oil palm sector has expanded due to available land and strong community interest, supported by the establishment of eight palm oil mills. However, smallholders face significant challenges, including land legality issues, low-quality seedlings, limited market access, low productivity, and restricted access to essential inputs like fertilizers and herbicides.
Arwan, Acting Chairman of the Oil Palm Smallholders Union (Serikat Petani Kelapa Sawit/SPKS) Southeast Sulawesi, reaffirmed SPKS’s dedication to improving smallholders’ capacity. Through partnerships with companies like PT Sultra Prima Lestari (SPL) and PT Tani Prima Makmur, SPKS provides Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) training directly in the field to enhance smallholders’ skills.
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Between October 21 and 31, 2024, SPKS conducted GAP training for about 100 smallholders across five villages in North Konawe Regency. The training, facilitated by experienced trainers from the Yogyakarta-based STIPER Agricultural Institute (INSTIPER), combined theoretical lessons with hands-on field practice. Topics included pest and disease identification, effective fertilization, and proper harvesting techniques.
Arwan emphasized that the program targets smallholders who had not previously adopted GAP standards. “This training equips smallholders with essential knowledge to apply GAP standards in managing their plantations,” he said in an official statement, as quoted by Palmoilmagazine.com on Thursday (11/7/2024).
SPKS Chairman, Sabarudin, stated that the organization’s main focus is currently on increasing the productivity of its members. At present, independent oil palm smallholders produce an average of less than 12 tons of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) per hectare per year, far below the ideal target of 20 tons of FFB per hectare per year, with CPO production above 3 tons per hectare annually.
“One of the main challenges lies in the proper implementation of GAP, particularly in fertilization. Many smallholders do not fertilize correctly or do not fertilize at all, even though proper fertilization is crucial for oil palm growth,” he explained.
Through continuous training, SPKS aims to promote a culture of GAP implementation among smallholders. This initiative is critical as the government plans to increase CPO production for the biodiesel program, transitioning from B35 to B50, which will require an additional 6 million tons of CPO annually. Optimizing the productivity of independent oil palm plantations, which cover around 6.9 million hectares across Indonesia, is essential to achieving this goal. (P2)
