The development of oil palm plantations aims to eliminate poverty and underdevelopment, especially in rural areas, while also paying attention to equity. In a broad sense, plantation-based agricultural development aims to improve public welfare, changing the lifestyle of the surrounding community. The success of plantation development based on oil palm agribusiness should reduce income inequality among community groups and regions.
Jambi has a total oil palm plantation area of 689,966 hectares, with an annual production of 1.6 million tons. Independent smallholders or those not integrated with plasma plantations make up 42 percent of the total plantation area, spread over eight out of eleven districts in Jambi. In 2017, palm oil commodities contributed Rp. 3,391,178,313 to the plantation sector.
In managing their plantations, independent smallholders still face fundamental problems such as low productivity and unstable palm oil prices. Low productivity occurs due to various factors, ranging from low-quality seeds and fertilizers, the lack of knowledge on the proper use of technology, and fundamental problems such as the difficulty in obtaining legal papers for their land. The negative stigma attached to Indonesian palm oil as a product resulting from unsustainable practices exacerbates these problems. Therefore, related parties should commit to helping independent smallholders towards sustainable oil palm plantations. Sustainable oil palm plantations should be supported by the acceleration of replanting programs, considering that the agricultural sector, specifically the plantation sub-sector, is the mainstay of Jambi’s economy; approximately 211,000 families depend on oil palm plantations. In 2018, Jambi replanted approximately 15 thousand hectares in six districts, namely Muaro Jambi, Batanghari, West Tanjung Jabung, Merangin, and Tebo. Jambi must realize the acceleration of oil palm replanting programs immediately to avoid negatively impacting its economy.
To that end, CSSPO Universitas Jambi held a National Seminar on Accelerating Smallholder Oil Palm Replanting Towards Sustainable Oil Palm Plantations which aims to:
- Discuss the process of accelerating smallholder palm oil replanting programs toward sustainable oil palm plantations
- Disseminate the results of literature studies and research in engineering and agricultural cultivation, environment, and socio-economics of oil palm commodities.
This National Seminar presented several experts, namely:
- Dr. Ir. Hermanto Siregar, MSc (Chairman of PERHEPI, Professor of Institut Pertanian Bogor)
- Dr. Almasdi Syahza, SE, MP (Professor of Universitas Riau)
- Ir. Bayu Krisnamurthi, MSi (Chairman of the SDGs Network of IPB)
More information can be found at http://semnascsspo2019.unja.ac.id/index.php/2019/09/01/keynote-speaker/
