Palm oil is relied on for the economy

Name: Palm oil is relied on for the economy
Uploaded: 2024-01-18T03:30:16Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: The three presidential and vice presidential candidates are committed to making palm oil a superior commodity.

The three presidential and vice presidential candidates are committed to making palm oil a superior commodity.

This article has been translated using AI. See Original .

AGUSTINUS YOGA PRIMANTORO

· 6 minutes read

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Sawit Diandalkan untuk Perekonomian

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The commodity palm oil will be one of the favorites for presidential and vice presidential candidates to accelerate the rate of economic growth in the future . These efforts are supported by improving governance and legal certainty through the formation of a special council or institution with direct authority over palm oil.

This emerged in a discussion forum entitled "Deliberation with National Palm Oil Stakeholders” organized by Kompas Daily, in Jakarta, Wednesday (17/1/2023). The event was attended by stakeholders, including the Indonesian Palm Oil Entrepreneurs Association (Gapki), the Indonesian Palm Oil Farmers Association (Apkasindo), the Indonesian Palm Oil Council (DMSI), the Producers Association Biofuel Indonesia (Aprobi), the Indonesian Oleochemical Producers Association (Apolin), and the People's Core Company Palm Oil Farmers Association (Aspekpir).

In addition, representatives from the Anies-Muhaimin (Amin) National Winning Team (Timnas) and the Prabowo-Gibran Panji Irawan National Campaign Team (TKN) were also present, along with representatives from Ganjar-Mahfud Danang Girindrawardana's National Campaign Team (TPN).

The deliberation was also attended by the Vice Minister of ATR / Deputy Head of BPN (2019-2022) Surya Tjandra and IPB lecturer Rachmat Pambudy.

The palm oil commodity is one of the contributors that supports national economic growth, both through international trade and employment. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that Indonesia's exports of crude palm oil (CPO) to more than 160 countries in 2022 will reach a value of 29.62 billion US dollars or the equivalent of IDR 462.04 trillion. .

In addition, there are approximately 16.2 million people involved in palm oil plantations, either as laborers or farmers. Out of the total 16.38 million hectares of palm oil plantations in Indonesia, 41 percent of them are owned by the local farmers.

However, the palm oil commodity faces several challenges both on a global and domestic level, one of which is negative campaigns that can result in decreased competitiveness. Additionally, overlapping policies involving more than 30 ministries/agencies also hinder the pace of palm oil business development.

"We from the Amin couple have serious concerns about making palm oil a new source of economic growth. If we look at it since 1998, palm oil growth has experienced a tremendous surge. We want to say to the Indonesian people and the world that palm oil is "corporate advantages are the easiest, the ones that already exist in Indonesia and this must be our strategic defense," said Achmad.

We are committed here to improve the policy-making process so that it is not fickle, there is clarity in the rules, clarity in the framework, and also legal certainty.

According to him, palm oil commodity has proven to aid the national economy and is expected to have a larger share, thus requiring continuous downstream efforts or industrialization of palm oil products and its derivatives. However, this development is not exempt from policy issues by the inconsistent government, such as the ban on palm oil exports.

Also read: Indonesian Palm Oil Exports Expected to Decline Again

For this reason, the presidential candidate (capres) and vice presidential candidate (cawapres) Amin offered a vision, mission and work program that specifically highlighted oil palm farmers. One of the main issues faced by oil palm farmers over the last few years is the regulation of forest areas (vertical) or land clarity for small farmers.

"We here are committed to improving the policy-making process to ensure consistency, clear regulations, a clear framework, and legal certainty," he added.

Iklan

On the other hand, Panji Irawan stated that one of the foundations of Indonesia Maju, as envisioned by the Prabowo-Gibran presidential candidate pair, is to make Indonesia the world's number one producer of palm oil. This effort will support the Indonesia Emas 2045 vision which aims to liberate Indonesia from the middle-income trap by optimizing its demographic bonus and available natural resources.

According to Panji, the commodity of palm oil will continue to thrive as it is the backbone of the Prabowo-Gibran candidate pair's program. In the 17 priority programs of Prabowo-Gibran, for example, Indonesia has the opportunity to become the world's green energy king through derivative products of biofuel from palm oil.

"Prabowo and Gibran agreed to improve the welfare of palm oil farmers through five pillars. Firstly, land ownership certainty. Mr Prabowo and Mr Gibran will support the recognition of the legality of palm oil plantations related to forest areas, as well as certification of farmers' plantations using palm oil funds," he said.

Next, our company will provide support to farmers to enter downstream sectors through cooperatives, and support for the establishment of an Indonesian palm oil body. Additionally, we aim to ensure the representation of palm oil farmers in the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) and guarantee regulations for palm oil farmers in every planning process.

Meanwhile, Danang Girindrawardana is of the opinion that palm oil commodities will be one of the main pillars of the Ganjar-Mahfud couple's vision to achieve 7 percent economic growth and create 17 million jobs. However, there are three problems currently being faced by palm oil, namely from the upstream, intermediate and downstream sides.

Also read: Saving the National Palm Oil Industry and the Roadmap to 2045

Of these three issues, Danang continues, the main problem lies in the upstream side, both related to the certainty of land tenure related to the Right to Use Land (HGU), which can easily change depending on the ego-sectoral interests of stakeholders or the decrease in productivity. According to him, the upstream problems need to be resolved immediately so that Indonesia can remain the main producer of palm oil in the world.

"It's time for Ganjar-Mahfud to talk about solutions, the solution is 3S, Solution-Strategy-Palm Palm. Formulate it there, make a roadmap there, invite friends from the stakeholders," he said.

Current policies still overlap, so it is necessary, like other countries, with one body, namely the MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board), to succeed in making everything (palm oil affairs) well organized and there is no more policy chaos. .

The three solutions are to ensure and strengthen BPDPKS or even replace it with a ministerial level institution. Secondly, to ensure closer partnerships between large companies, farmers, smallholders, and the government. In addition, to enhance legal certainty, land use rights, and change bureaucratic culture in creating regulations.

The Chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki), Eddy Martono, stated that the three representatives from each Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate have agreed that palm oil is important for Indonesia because it contributes to foreign exchange and employs a large number of workers. In addition, they have also agreed to establish a special body or institution that oversees the stakeholders of palm oil.

"Current policies still overlap, so it is necessary, like other countries, with one body, namely the MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board), to succeed in making everything (palm oil affairs) well organized and there is no longer policy chaos," he said.

According to Eddy, the most important thing to realize this commitment is awareness of the importance of palm oil commodities for the national economy. Thus, negative campaigns and non-tariff barriers in international trade, such as the European Union's Deforestation Law (EUDR), can be overcome.

Secretary General of Apkasindo, Rino Afriano, added that the three representatives from each Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate have voiced their certainty regarding the legal and legitimate status of the land, which has been a polemic issue. In addition, the issue of farmers, which has been neglected for a long time, has also garnered attention.

"This (the commitment regarding palm oil) is truly delivered and embraced by the candidates. Besides considering their integrity, they must understand the importance of palm oil so that they won't make empty promises or say something without understanding the purpose behind it. Hopefully, this will be a guideline for future presidents," he said.

Also read: European Union tries to pressure Indonesia via EUDR

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Palm oil is relied on for the economy

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