President Jokowi Launches Rejuvenation of Oil Palm Plantation in Riau

President Jokowi launches the program of Oil Palm Plantations Rejuvenation in Riau Province. (Photo by: Bureau of Press, Media and Information).

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo launched Rejuvenation of Oil Palm Plantations program covering 25,423 hectares in Rokan Hilir Regency, Riau Province on Wednesday (9/5).

The rejuvenation of 15,000 hectares of oil palm plantation in Rokan Hilir Regency involves approximately 5,000 local self-help farmers.

“For this year, the target is 185 thousand hectares of oil palm plantations in all over Indonesia. Meanwhile in Riau Province, the program covers 25 thousand hectares,” the President said in his opening remarks.

There are eight regencies in Riau Province that become the target of his program, such as Rokan Hulu, Rokan Hilir, Kampar, Siak, Pelalawan, Kuantan Sengingi, Indragiri Hulu, and Bengkalis.

This rejuvenation programs aims at improving productivity as well as welfare of oil palm farmers. For the record, most of local oil palm plantations in Indonesia are old and should be rejuvenated.

“Private companies’ production of palm oil is bigger than production carried out by the local people; two times bigger. Therefore, the Government is now conducting this rejuvenation,” the President said.

For each hectare of oil palm plantation, the Government will provide Rp25 millions funding assistance through the Indonesian Oil Palm Estate Fund (BPDP-KS), to be channeled through designated banks. The funds can be used by oil palm farmers as initial capital to logging of old palm trees, prepare seeds, and plant them.

Furthermore, the Government has also accelerated the issuance of land certificates of the land used by the farmers. All the time, the farmers have difficulties and do not yet have a certificate of their land and this is what the Government wants to solve.

“If you already have a certificate, it can serve as legal rights over their land so there will be no dispute with their neighbors and private companies,” the President said.

In this working visit, President Jokowi handed over 100 land certificates to oil palm farmers in Rokan Hilir. This year, the President said that the Government allocated 15 thousand land certificates to landowners who have not had the certificates, specifically in Rokan Hilir.

Since a number of problems faced by oil palm farmers related to their land have been solved, the farmers are expected to focus on improving their productivity. Thus, their welfare can increase.

“So, I hope this program is going to start soon,” the President said while reminding the Ministers, Governor and Regents to oversee the program.

The Rejuvenation of Oil Palm Plantations program was initially launched by the President in Musi Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatra, on 13 October 2017 covering 4,400 hectares of oil palm plantations owned by the people.

A month and fourteen days later, rejuvenation of 9,109.29 hectares is also carried out in Serdang Bedagai, Langkat, and a number of regencies in North Sumatra.

Also accompanied the President on the event were Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution, Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning/Head of National Land Agency Sofyan Djalil, Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko and Acting Governor of Riau Wan Thamrin Hasyim. (BPMI/EN) (GWH/MMB/Naster)