Govt plans world's largest oil palm plantations<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government is working on the development of the world's
\nlargest integrated oil palm plantation, including processing
\nfacilities, which would run along the 850 kilometer-long border
\nwith Malaysia in Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
The government expects more than 500,000 jobs will be created
\nthrough the project and oil palm production will increase by some
\n2.7 million bunches annually, Minister of Agriculture Anton
\nApriyantono told The Jakarta Post recently.<\/p>\n
The establishment of the plantation -- which will start
\nproducing by 2010 -- and its supporting industry is estimated to
\ncost approximately Rp 5.5 trillion (some US$567 million) over the
\nnext five years.<\/p>\n
\"The project is aimed at strengthening our border against our
\nneighbor Malaysia, as well as reducing the prosperity gap between
\nour people living along the border and those in Malaysia,\" said
\nAnton.<\/p>\n
Anton said his ministry was tasked with coordinating the
\ndevelopment of the plantation, including attracting local and
\nforeign investors and providing seedlings and farming equipment.<\/p>\n
Foreign investors interested in the business are required to
\nform a joint venture with local investors, he added.<\/p>\n
Due in part to a lack of development, the border between
\nIndonesia and Malaysia in Kalimantan has become a haven for
\nillegal loggers, many backed up by law enforcers, in smuggling
\nout logs from protected forests.<\/p>\n
Anton said the government would initially focus on developing
\noil palm plantations in several regencies including Sambas,
\nBengkayang, Sintang and Sanggau in East Kalimantan, and in Kapuas
\nin Central Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
\"The end-product can be exported overseas or sold on the local
\nmarket for developing biodiesel fuel, which is much needed to
\nhelp reduce the domestic consumption of subsidized premium
\ngasoline. Therefore, the plantation has huge prospects,\" said
\nAnton.<\/p>\n
Aside from oil palm, several areas near the border will be
\ncultivated as rubber plantations with an estimated output of some
\n135,000 tons of dried rubber annually, he said.<\/p>\n
The development of the plantations will involve the Ministry
\nof Manpower and Transmigration in providing workers, the Ministry
\nof Public Works in building roads and opening up access, and the
\nMinistry of Forestry in land acquisition.<\/p>\n
Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris told The
\nJakarta Post his ministry would intensify transmigration programs
\nfor recruiting unemployed people in densely populated provinces,
\nsuch as those in Java, to be relocated into the planned
\nplantation areas.<\/p>\n
\"We are currently working with the Ministry of Agriculture on
\nthe mechanism to relocate unemployed people or farmers from
\ndensely populated provinces to border areas under the
\ntransmigration program,\" said Fahmi.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is the world's second largest exporter after
\nMalaysia of oil palm -- a raw material for, among other things,
\ncooking oil, soap and detergent.<\/p>\n
Output from the two countries makes up about 85 percent of
\nyearly global oil palm production.<\/p>\n
According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS),
\nthe country produced about 12 million tons of crude oil palm last
\nyear, with about 8.66 million tons exported to China, India,
\nPakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-plans-worlds-largest-oil-palm-plantations-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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