Association Calls for Complete Renewal of 40-Year-Old Smallholder Palm Plantations with Government Funding
Jakarta - The productivity of smallholder palm oil plantations is considered significantly lagging behind that of large corporations, resulting in suboptimal contributions to national production.
Rino Afrino, Secretary General of the Association of Indonesian Smallholder Palm Oil Farmers (Apkasindo), stated that improving productivity must be a priority to boost farmer welfare. He believes the state has an obligation to provide broader access to smallholder farmers, ranging from plantation rejuvenation programmes to improvements in human resource quality.
“Production sovereignty means smallholder farmers must have access to palm oil rejuvenation, training, extension services, and superior seeds,” he said at the Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday (3/3/2026).
Whilst national production is currently substantial, the majority still originates from corporate plantations. Efforts to increase smallholder production must be supported through various initiatives, including access to superior seeds and human resource training.
“Production sovereignty means smallholder farmers must have the widest possible access to palm oil rejuvenation, training, extension services, and infrastructure,” he added.
He also highlighted concerns regarding the implementation of the Smallholder Palm Oil Rejuvenation Programme (PSR), which he said has not been running optimally. The programme has been operational since several years ago with available funding support.
“Why is PSR realisation always around 30 per cent? The funds are available and the programme has been running since 2017,” he questioned.
In the field, many smallholder palm plantations are over 40 years old and urgently require rejuvenation. “Farmers whose plantations are already more than 40 years old, such as in West Kalimantan, should have them completely renewed and receive PSR support because they are part of Indonesia’s palm oil development from the beginning,” he said.
He therefore called for the Smallholder Palm Oil Rejuvenation Programme (PSR) to be implemented more aggressively, particularly in areas with aging plantations. “Farmers who have participated in the PIR scheme from the outset should receive priority for PSR because they are part of Indonesia’s palm oil development sector,” he concluded.