OJK Continues Commitment To Support Increased Financing Oil Palm Farmers

JAKARTA - The Financial Services Authority (OJK) is said to be trying to improve the welfare of palm oil farmers through expanding banking financing. Chairman of the OJK Board of Commissioners Mahendra Siregar said his party had encouraged an innovative and feasible funding scheme which was also expected to increase national palm oil production.

"OJK seeks to increase financial access for oil palm farmers because this is clearly a sustainable financing scheme and supports three pillars of sustainable finance, namely improving welfare, protecting the environment, and for economic growth," he said in a written statement in South Sumatra, quoted Tuesday, August 1.

According to Mahendra, this activity is a series of OJK activities in supporting financing oil palm farmers and increasing productivity in the plantation sector.

"Indonesia is the largest palm oil producing country in the world and palm oil dominates the global vegetable oil demand and has not been replaced so far, so we need to encourage productivity," he said.

Mahendra further explained that as Indonesia's strategic commodity, palm oil is the mainstay of the national trade balance which contributes 13.50 percent to non-oil and gas exports and contributes 3.50 percent of Indonesia's total GDP.

On that occasion, the distribution of credit/financing was handed over by the South Sumatra BPD Babel, Bank BRI and Bank Mandiri to representatives of oil palm farmers in Bumi Harapan Village, Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra with a total credit of Rp273 billion.

"Seeing the huge economic potential of palm oil, OJK together with related stakeholders will continue to support oil palm farmers to get access to funding more easily, encourage the management of plantation processes and guarantee product quality so that the productivity of oil palm farmers can be maintained," concluded Mahendra.