Apkasindo provides digital access to palm oil prices for farmers
The Indonesian Palm Oil Farmers Association (Apkasindo) is working to provide independent oil palm smallholders with easier access to information on fresh fruit bunch (FFB) and crude palm oil (CPO) prices.
Apkasindo chairman Gulat Medali Emas Manurung said in a statement in Jakarta on Wednesday that for decades, millions of independent oil palm smallholders have faced limited access to FFB and CPO price information.
He said this information gap has weakened farmers’ bargaining position, while price disparities between regions and between independent and plasma smallholders have been difficult to monitor openly.
“Information transparency is an important prerequisite for achieving price justice for farmers,” he said.
To address this issue, Apkasindo, with support from the Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP), has launched hargasawitindonesia.id, a digital platform designed to provide price data transparency while strengthening farmers’ bargaining position in the national palm oil supply chain.
Gulat said the platform is expected not to stop as a farmers’ organisation innovation. Government support, including from the Directorate General of Plantations at the Ministry of Agriculture, is expected to encourage its development as part of the facilities and infrastructure programme for the People’s Palm Oil Replanting (PSR) scheme.
The dashboard presents information on smallholder FFB prices, national and international CPO prices, comparisons between independent and plasma smallholder prices, analysis of price disparities between regions, and price movement projections.
“With a web-based format, the information is expected to be easily accessible and understood by farmers,” he said.
According to him, around 42 percent of Indonesia’s oil palm plantations are managed by smallholders, making access to price information a strategic factor in improving welfare.
“If all actors have the same information regarding CPO and FFB prices, farmers’ bargaining position will be much stronger,” Gulat said.
He stressed that data transparency is not intended to pit farmers against industry, but rather to create a healthier ecosystem because all parties have the same information reference.
Gulat said Apkasindo has prepared a reporting feature so that farmers can report significant price differences. This information is expected to serve as evaluation material while strengthening oversight of FFB trading practices in the field.
He also assessed that the benefits of the B50 biodiesel programme have not been fully reflected in the prices received by farmers. Therefore, the dashboard is expected to help identify the causes of price disparities while serving as material for formulating policies that are more favourable to smallholders.
Elvyrisma Nainggolan, head of the Marketing Group at the Directorate General of Plantations, Ministry of Agriculture, assessed the digitalisation of price information as a positive step aligned with the transformation of the plantation sector.
According to her, some government price data is still managed manually, so the presence of a digital dashboard can accelerate information dissemination while expanding the participation of independent smallholders.
Going forward, the platform has the potential to be developed through collaboration with various data sources, such as KPBN, ICDX, and international references.
“We all hope that more farmers’ organisations will contribute by sending data so that the picture of prices in the field becomes more accurate,” she said.