Prepared Palm Oil Processing Factory, Manokwari Towards Independent Cooking Oil

West Papua can produce its own cooking oil because a cooking oil factory will be built there. The Vice President also hopes that the construction of the factory will be accelerated.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI.

KOMPAS/NINA SUSILO

Vice President (Wapres) Ma'ruf Amin planted oil palm seedlings as a form of support for the People's Oil Palm Rejuvenation Program (PSR) in Wasegi Village, Prafi District, Manokwari Regency, West Papua on Saturday (15/7/2023).

MANOKWARI, KOMPAS - Palm oil farmers in Manokwari Regency, West Papua Province, hope that palm rejuvenation will be implemented soon, as well as the construction of a palm oil processing plant in their area. Thus, the income of local palm oil farmers can improve.

Around 30 farmers are calling out that their palm oil plantations are currently unproductive. "Stalled," they said in harmony when Vice President Ma'ruf Amin asked about the condition of the people's palm oil plantations in Wasegi Village, Prafi District, Manokwari Regency, on Saturday (July 15, 2023).

These farmers are generally transmigrant residents who started becoming palm oil farmers between 1985 and 1990. However, currently, the palm trees of the residents have become older and unproductive. Therefore, they are waiting for the realization of the government's program to rejuvenate people's palm oil.

According to the Chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Farmers Association (Apkasindo) Gulat CP Manurung, there are 9,400 hectares of oil palm land in three districts, namely Prafi, Warmare, and Masni. The farmers are now members of the Arfak Sejahtera Producer Cooperative.

On a land area of ​​9,400 hectares, only 2,044 hectares are planted with 425,000 palm seedlings. The planted seeds are cultivated in Papua, then certified, and after nine months, planted in Manokwari.

Also read: Not Informed About Palm Oil Permits, Awyu Tribe Communities Sue Provincial Government of Papua

KOMPAS/NINA SUSILO

An oil palm farmer recorded a video as Vice President Ma'ruf greeted them in Wasegi Village, Prafi District, Manokwari Regency, West Papua, on Saturday (July 15, 2023).

Another issue at the moment is the palm oil processing plant. The plant where farmers sell their palm oil has experienced a fire, causing farmers to travel further to sell their palm oil. As a result, the quality of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) decreases, as well as the price received by farmers.

The construction of a palm oil processing plant is considered as a solution. The plant will have a capacity of 15 tons per hour and can be increased to 30 tons per hour.

The cost of building a cooperative factory amounted to IDR 80 billion, which came from the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS). The remaining funding gap will be covered by the cooperative through a KUR (People's Business Credit) loan from the government-owned bank.

Independent production

Not only that, according to Gulat, in the future, West Papua can produce its own cooking oil as a cooking oil factory will also be established there.

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, who was also welcomed by the Chairman of Arfak Sejahtera Palm Producer Cooperative, Dorteus Paiki, accompanied by Acting Governor of West Papua Paulus Waterpauw and Manokwari Regent Hermus Indou, welcomed the effort to strengthen smallholder palm oil through the construction of palm oil processing plants. "I request that the construction of the plant be expedited, not delayed any further," he said.

See also : 20,000 Hectares of Keerom Customary Land Turns into Palm Oil Plantation

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Residents pass by the oil palm plantation owned by PTPN VIII in afdeling 1 of the Cikasungka plantation, Candali, Bogor, West Java, Sunday (21/8/2022). This 19,130 ​​hectare plantation owned by PTPN VIII has been planted with oil palm since 2003 which was previously a rubber plantation. Bogor is one of the locations for oil palm plantations in Java that are still operating.

On that occasion, the Vice President also witnessed the Launching and Technical Recommendation (Rekomtek) Handover of the People's Palm Oil Factory from the Director of Palm and Various Palm Plants of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ardi Praptono, to the Chairman of the Arfak Sejahtera Palm Producer Cooperative, Dorteus Paiki.

The Vice President also handed over assistance from Bank Indonesia's Social Program in the form of assistance with communal cow pen facilities and infrastructure in oil palm replanting land to the Sumber Rejeki Farmer Group in Manokwari Regency and assistance in replicating the best practicescover method on shallot farming land to the Farmer Groups Sinar Tani Manokwari.

The Vice President also participated in planting oil palm seedlings as a form of support for the People's Palm Rejuvenation Program (PSR).