Wamentan: Plantation And Palm Oil Industry Strengthen Indonesia's Offering Position In The World

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Agriculture (Wamentan) Sudaryono stated that the plantation sector and the palm oil industry can strengthen Indonesia's bargaining position in the world arena through improving product quality and competitiveness.

"The plantation sector and the palm oil industry have great potential to drive the economy, both at the national and international levels," he said in a statement in Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Thursday, February 13.

He said this at the opening of the 2025 Palm Oil and Environment (ICOPE) International Conference which took place in Bali.

He invites business actors and palm oil developers in the world to increase productivity in order to strengthen food security and support the development of sustainable energy sources.

Wementan Sudaryono or who is familiarly called Mas Dar, emphasized the importance of research to increase soil fertility and technology development that can increase palm oil productivity.

First of course I encourage fertility research. And second, I encourage research on development to have high productivity. That way, we can significantly increase national and international palm oil production," he said.

He revealed that the plantation sector and the palm oil industry have great potential to drive the economy, both at the national and international levels.

According to him, the role of the palm oil industry is so strategic that increasing productivity will strengthen Indonesia's position as a key player in global palm oil.

He also said that President Prabowo Subianto has a big target in developing palm-based biofuels, such as B14, B15, and currently continues to innovate in the development of biofuels with a B40 target.

According to him, this is a step by the Indonesian government to make palm oil a multifunction material that supports energy and economic resilience. Moreover, more than 60 percent of world oil is supplied from Indonesian palm oil.

"In the program we run, we have taken the initiative to rejuvenate (replanting). This step is very important to encourage rejuvenation reform, especially in large plantations where old trees have reached the end of their productive period," he said.

He said the government is currently focusing on the welfare of new farmers and entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector, in accordance with President Prabowo's direction to create more new rich people through the agricultural sector.

"Pak Prabowo told us that our goal for the country is to create as many new rich people as possible. This means that those who are not rich, are not prosperous, so they are more prosperous, meaning that welfare is given to improving welfare among the people themselves," he said.

ICOPE 2025 chairman Jean-Pierre Caliman added that this conference aims to strengthen commitments in sustainable palm oil research and development.

He reminded that climate change is a big challenge for the palm oil industry, with the impact of extreme heat waves that can damage ecosystems and crop pollinators that are important for agricultural production.

Climate change has caused global temperatures to increase by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, which affects the pollination process and the quality of strains. This is a challenge that must be faced together," he said.

He emphasized that in ICOPE 2025 the importance of collaboration between stakeholders, including small farmers, academics, and environmental economists, is to encourage more sustainable palm oil in the future.