Universal's credit to farmers

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Universal, the banking arm of the widely diversified business group Astra, agreed on Monday to channel Rp 115.36 billion (US$13.4 million) in credit to the Karya Mukti cooperative in Muara Bungo, Jambi, to support the development of oil palm smallholdings of its members.

The company announced the credit agreement was signed in the provincial capital of Jambi in a ceremony attended by Minister of Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises Adi Sasono, Jambi Governor Abdurrahman Sayoeti and Astra president Rini Soewandi.

Karya Mukti is the business partner of PT Sari Aditya Loka, a subsidiary of publicly listed PT Astra Agro Lestari (AAL), which is active in agribusiness commodities such as palm oil, cocoa, tea and rubber.

Karya Mukti has 4,948 household members with a total of 9,896 hectares of oil palm smallholdings.

AAL runs 198,050 hectares of plantations, including 182,268 hectares planted with oil palm and the rest with rubber, tea and cocoa. Harvests have been made on about 108,735 hectares. (jsk)