Pertagas OKA Brings a Series of Innovations for the Welfare of Farmers and SMEs
PT Pertamina Gas Operation Kalimantan Area (Pertagas OKA) is one of the companies conducting business responsibly through innovations in the environmental sector that impact the welfare of communities in the areas surrounding its operations. These innovations focus on resolving issues in the water management system of Karya Jaya Village, Samboja Subdistrict, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, and culminate in the utilisation of clean water for agriculture to daily needs.
This innovation is part of the sustainability strategy of PT Pertamina Gas OKA’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, which has received the Programme for Assessing Company Performance (PROPER) award with a Gold rating from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry for the fourth consecutive time.
The innovation implemented is the Karya Akselerasi Desa Sejahtera (Karyadarsa) in Samboja Subdistrict, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan. The Karyadarsa innovation comprises three sub-programmes: Tirta Karya, Tani Karya, and Niaga Karya.
Karyadarsa stems from the problem of contaminated water sources, resulting in limited access to clean water. The poor quality and distribution system of water affect the lives of the Karya Jaya Village community in agriculture, social, and economic aspects.
In the Tirta Karya sub-programme, Pertagas OKA introduces the Aquagrid System innovation to assist 530 families facing difficulties in accessing water and to improve the suboptimal agricultural water distribution system.
With this innovation, the water ecosystem has been optimised through sustainable management of clean water distribution for the community.
Meanwhile, in Tani Karya, Pertagas OKA utilises critical land for agriculture and plantations to address farmers’ limited access issues. This sub-programme also supports geographically vulnerable farmers by providing 2.5 hectares of agricultural plasma.
There is also a semi-organic farming innovation utilising unprocessed village animal waste. This step reduces capital for purchasing chemical fertiliser by up to Rp500,000 per tonne per month.
Finally, there is the Niaga Karya sub-programme. Niaga Karya addresses various issues such as the lack of markets for local products and limited income alternatives for village communities.
This programme also creates SME business units and bridges local business cooperation, providing access to improved SME product quality, as well as business consolidation and collective learning for SMEs.
Niaga Karya has impacted the capacity building of SME group members, recording nine active members in Karya Jaya SME. Additionally, eight SME products have been certified halal and registered as Household Food Industry Products (PIRT).
The Niaga Karya programme also strengthens marketing networks, boosting income by Rp120,000 per person per month and providing training for SME groups twice a year.
Not only social impacts, Pertagas OKA also implements Eco Innovation for the environment in the form of Piping Irrigation System for Agriculture (PISPA) 2.0. PISPA 2.0 is used to handle irrigation system issues for farmers in Martadinata Village, East Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan Province, due to land drought and the ineffectiveness of manual watering.
The PISPA 2.0 system is designed by adapting the gas management model applied to water distribution, using unabsorbed PVC pipe waste from the company. Additionally, PISPA 2.0 utilises solar panel energy for clean energy implementation, thereby saving operational costs.