Smallholdings have become an increasingly important part of the development of oil palm in Indonesia. Since 2015, smallholdings make up more than 40% of the total oil palm plantations in Indonesia. Over four million hectares consist of plants above 25 years old and require urgent replanting. However, many smallholders do not have enough capital to do so. To overcome this, the Oil palm plantation Fund Management Agency (Badan Pengelola Dana Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit/BPDPKS) initiated a replanting program for smallholdings. Per Government Regulation No. 61/2015 concerning Collection and Use of Palm Oil Plantation Funds, this program is funded by the Indonesian palm oil export levies. Preparations for this program include replanting training for oil palm smallholders in all smallholding centers, including North Labuhanbatu. The training was opened by M Arwin Tambunan, SP, head of the North Labuhanbatu Plantation Service, and attended by Yusri Indra Nasution, SP, representative of the Labuhanbatu Agriculture Office, Mr. Dr. Ir. Hasanuddin, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Asmar Arsjad, Secretary-General of APKASINDO, Ir. Gus Dalhari Harahap, Chairman of the North Sumatra branch of DPW APKASINDO, and all training participants. The training was conducted in class for three days, featuring Prof. Dr. Ir. Abdul Rauf, MP, Prof. Dr. Darma Bakti, MS, Ir. Diana Chalil, MSi, PhD, and Ir. Yusak Maryunianta, MSi from Universitas Sumatera Utara, Asian Agri, which has successfully trained smallholders, and PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. In addition, oil palm smallholders from Riau who have undergone replanting with funding support from BPDPKS were also featured.
The activity continued with a two-day field trip to Asia Agri and PT Socfin Indonesia. This field trip is expected to paint a complete picture of the in-class material. The training was attended by 47 smallholders from various sub-districts in North Labuhanbatu.
Through this training, participants should be better prepared to conduct replanting to improve their performance and welfare.
