Oil Palm Farmers Need International Certification To Be Profitable

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - PT Perkebunan Nusantara V encourages fostered partner farmers to obtain an international certificate of cultivation and management of sustainable and sustainable palm oil (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil/RSPO) from the international independent certification body TUV Rheinland.

"That way, farmers and companies will benefit both in terms of productivity and sales of palm oil products through the implementation of sustainable plantation cultivation practices", said PT Perkebunan Nusantara V Chief Executive Officer, Jatmiko Santosa, as quoted by Antara, Saturday, February 19.

According to him, this is the first step to achieving a broader goal of embracing and improving the economy of PTPN V fostered partner farmers.

For the initial stage, there are three Village Unit Cooperatives (KUD) located in Rokan Hulu Regency that is participating in the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification programs. The three are KUD Karya Mukti on an area of 874 hectares, Dayo Mukti on an area of 706 hectares, and KUD Tani Sejahtera with an area of 856 hectares.

The three KUD that have entered the second generation of planting with the age of nine years and are included in the category of productive plants will become PTPN V's first foster partners to carry out ISPO and RSPO certification.

"The total land area of partner farmers who underwent the initial RSPO and ISPO certification this year reached 2,436 hectares", he said.

Jatmiko is grateful that the RSPO and ISPO programs carried out by state-owned plantation companies for these farmers have received positive responses from partner farmers.

He hopes that a similar program can be carried out again in all oil palm plantations of partner farmers which cover an area of 56.6 thousand hectares.

Currently, PTPN V has recorded 10 RSPO certificates, consisting of nine oil palm plantations and one palm kernel mill (PKO).

This year, the company is targeting all 12 PKS and one PKO of the state-owned company to have RSPO certification.

"This certification will be a strong asset for all company personnel in continuing to implement the SOE transformation program and sustainable business in the coming years", concluded Jatmiko.