EU Delegates Check on RI Oil Palm Plantations

Socioeconomic factors and the environment were the two major concerns expressed by European Union delegates in their observation of sustainable oil palm plantation management in Jambi.

KOMPAS/ALBERTUS HENDRIYO WIDI

European Union delegates, led by EU Ambassador to Indonesia Vincent Guerend (blue batik), visit an oil palm processing facility in Tungkal Ulu, West Tanjung Jabung regency, Jambi, on Monday. The trip, organized by the Foreign Ministry, aims to provide EU decisionmakers with firsthand information about Indonesia’s palm oil industry.

JAMBI, KOMPAS – Socioeconomic factors and the environment were the two major concerns expressed by European Union (EU) delegates in their observation of sustainable oil palm plantation management in Jambi. They asked questions on farmers’ welfare, deforestation and biodiversity on oil palm plantations.

On Tuesday (17/4/2018), EU delegates – comprising 12 ambassadors and embassy representatives from the EU, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom – visited an oil palm plantation managed by state plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) VI in Batanghari, Jambi. They were there to observe environment management practices and local biodiversity. Previously, they had visited the Tungkal Ulu plantation managed by private palm oil company PT Inti Indosawit Subur, a subsidiary of palm oil giant Asian Agri, in West Tanjung Jabung regency.

The visit was initiated under the Executive Oil Palm for Ambassadors program facilitated by the Foreign Ministry and the Indonesian Oil Palm Estate Fund (BPDP-KS) in Jambi, which runs from April 15-19, 2018.

At PTPN VI, the delegates were shown research and pilot programs on sustainable oil palm management conducted by Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 990. CRC 990 is a collaboration between Jambi University, the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), Tadulako University and the University of Göttingen in Germany.

CRC 990 has conducted intensive research for the past five years on 1,000 hectares of land. The research covers land conversion, biodiversity preservation through intercropping and socioeconomic factors. On the visit to CRC 990’s intercropping pilot plot, Swedish Ambassador to Indonesia Johanna Brismar-Skoog asked about the benefits local farmers and communities received from the intercropping system on the oil palm plantation.

She then suggested that, in the future, intercropping plots would not only exist as pilot projects but be implemented expansively on company and community plantations. The goal is to increase biodiversity and local farmers’ revenue.

European Commission Climate Change and Environment counselor Michael Bucki asked about logging in a number of spots in Jambi. Based on a dialogue with plasma farmers on Monday, the EU delegates deemed that the difference in revenue received by certified and uncertified oil palm farmers was insufficient. The price difference between certified and uncertified fresh oil palm fruit bunches (TBS) is only Rp 40 (US 0.29 cent).

A CRC 990 researcher from Jambi University, Bambang Irawan, said CRC 990 was exploring the use of intercropping in the management of oil palm plantations, where other plants, such as stink beans, dog fruit, durian and jelutong (Dyera costulata), are planted between oil palm trees. The two-year experimentation pointed to improved biodiversity and oil palm harvests as well as increased revenue for farmers.

“In the research, we also found that young oil palm plantations of up to two years are the leading cause of carbon increase. However, mature oil palm plantations [of 10-12 years] absorb carbon,” Bambang explained.

Research results

Bambang said socioeconomic research showed that oil palm cultivation could improve locals’ welfare and nutrient intake. The business improves the village economy and children’s education.

“We have produced 62 scientific papers published in various international journals that can be used to counter negative campaigns against Indonesian oil palm,” he said.

PTPN VI Jambi president director Ahmad Haslan Saragih said that PTPN VI implemented sustainable oil palm management, including by integrating oil palm plantations with cattle farms. This way, cattle dung can be used as organic fertilizer. In the socioeconomic field, PTPN will work with local farmers to implement a plasma scheme on 8,000 ha of land. A pilot program involving 1,000 ha has already been established.

“The scheme we implement here is that farmers as land owners can work on their farms, while we manage the oil palm. PTPN provides the seeds and buys farmers’ TBS at market price. The land continues to belong to the farmer,” Ahmad said.

PTPN VI has eight crude palm oil (CPO) processing factories. This year, PTPN VI targets to produce 130,000 tons of CPO, an increase of around 7 percent from last year’s production.

Foreign Ministry policy research and development agency head Siswo Pramono said the event aimed to introduce Indonesia’s sustainable oil palm plantation management to the EU. Such a management prioritized the environment, the preservation of forests and biodiversity and the prosperity of small farmers.

(HEN)