BPDP States That Over 13,000 People Have Received Palm Oil Scholarships

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Palm Oil Fund Management Agency (BPDP) stated that from 2015 to April 30, 2026, the total number of students receiving the Palm Oil Scholarship Program is 13,265, with 4,975 scholarship recipients having completed their studies.

The Head of the Human Resources Development Fund Distribution Division of BPDP, Sudi Bawa Suwita, said that the Palm Oil Scholarship Program is spread across 21 provinces in Indonesia, involving 42 institutions implementing the Human Resources Development Program for the plantation sector until 2025.

“The Palm Oil Scholarship Program is an investment for the younger generation, which not only encourages the progress of the palm oil plantation sector but also ensures its sustainability for the future of Indonesia,” he said in a statement in Jakarta, Friday.

Through this activity, BPDP hopes that the beneficiaries of the Human Resources Development Program in the form of Palm Oil Scholarships from the 3T (Underdeveloped, Frontier, and Outermost) Regions will increase, thus bringing positive changes to the management of palm oil plantations nationally.

Meanwhile, Suparwati, as a representative from the Directorate General of Plantations of the Ministry of Agriculture, said that in order to improve the quality of human resources in the palm oil plantation sector, the government, through the Directorate General of Plantations, together with BPDP, is implementing the Palm Oil Scholarship program, which in 2026 targets 5,000 scholarship students.

The government, she added, is preparing a special category through the Affirmation Program, given to participants from the Papua Region, the Nusa Tenggara Region, the 3T Regions, Border Regions, and participants who are economically disadvantaged.

“The allocation and quota for the affirmation program provided is a maximum of 30 percent of the total overall quota based on the region of origin and economic conditions,” she said during the Socialization of the Palm Oil Scholarship Program in the context of the Gender Mainstreaming (PUG) activity in Sorong City, West Papua, Tuesday (May 12).

The collaborative activity between BPDP and the Regional Office of the Directorate General of Treasury (DJPb) of West Papua Province, Papua Province, and the Sorong State Treasury Office was attended by approximately 160 high school/vocational students, most of whose parents work in the palm oil plantation sector, as well as 50 teachers representing 20 schools in Sorong City, Sorong Regency, and South Sorong Regency.

Based on Plantation Statistics, the area of people’s palm oil plantations in West Papua is 3,600 hectares with 594 farmer families spread across two regencies, namely Sorong Regency with an area of 3,214 hectares and 434 farmer families, and South Sorong Regency with an area of 386 hectares and 160 farmer families.

The Director of Finance, Risk Management, and General Affairs of BPDP, who is also the Chairman of the BPDP Gender Mainstreaming (PUG), Zaid Burhan Ibrahim, said that the presence of the Palm Oil Scholarship program is a form of BPDP’s commitment to creating a superior generation in the plantation sector, namely a generation that is highly competitive, has integrity, and upholds gender equality.

Through this socialization, it is hoped that teachers and students can obtain complete information about the opportunities, benefits, and mechanisms of the Palm Oil Scholarship program.

“It is hoped that more sons and daughters of Papua will become part of the future of sustainable Indonesian plantations,” he said.