BOGOR – Palm oil industry is very potential to support Indonesia in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which were adopted by all United Nations (UN) member states, including Indonesia, in 2015, Purwiyatno Hariyadi, a professor of food engineering from Bogor University of Agriculture (IPB), told an international webinar recently.

The SDGs, which were targeted to be achieved in 2030, include eliminating poverty, erasing hunger, establishing good health and well-being, growing affordable and clean energy, reducing inequality, pursuing climate actions, and developing sustainable cities and communities.

As around 40 percent of Indonesia’s oil palm plantations are owned by smallholders, mainly in Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi islands, the palm oil industry is very potential to help Indonesia in achieving the SDGs.

“The palm oil has many advantages if compared to other vegetable oils. As the largest producer of palm oil in the world, the palm oil industry is very potential for Indonesia in achieving the UN’s SDGs,” Prof. Purwiyatno Hariyadi said during the sixth Food Ingredient Asia Conference (FiAC), which was organized virtually by the research and community service institution (LPPM) and the agriculture engineering faculty of Bogor University of Agriculture (IPB), in cooperation with the Indonesian Association of Food Engineering Experts (PATPI) and South East Asia Food and Agricultural Science and Technology (SEAFAST) Center.

Haryadi said that the oil palm plantations have a very high productivity, and even much higher than the productivity of other vegetable oils. “Oil palm plantation can produce 8.0 tons of oil per hectare, while soybean and sunflower can only produce respectively 0.4 ton and 0.5 ton of oil per hectare,” he said, adding that oil palm trees are productive for up to 25 years with production cost much lower than other vegetable oils.

He noted that based on data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), during 2019 Indonesian crude palm oil production reached 51.8 million tons, which increased by 9.0 percent compared to that of 2018. “The palm oil industry has been continually seeing a robust growth. It has contributed around 1.5 – 2.5 percent of the national GDP every year. Considering that the global population will be continually rising, then the demand for palm oil from Indonesia will steadily increase. Due to its multiplier effect to the national economy, the Indonesian government has made the commodity as the top priority,” he said.

Besides contributing the foreign exchange, the palm oil industry has also improved the quality of people’s lives, including the quality of their education and health. “Therefore, it is undeniable that the palm oil industry plays an important role in achieving the target of SDGs,” he said.

But he noted that a number of strategies should be implemented to deal with various challenges, such as the safety of food and risk of health. “In fact, 85 percent of palm oil is used for foods. So, we need to ensure its safety all across the supply chains,” he added.

He also said that Indonesia needs to develop its own research and development to continually improve the quality and sustainability of palm oil.

IPB LPPM Chairman Dr Ernan Rustiadi said during the webinar that the real challenge in ensuring the global food security is posed by the fact that global population is continually rising, while productive land areas for agriculture are limited. “This challenge should be dealt with efforts to increase productivity on available areas, minimize food loss, and manage food consumption sustainably,” he said.

The international webinar, which was opened by Dr Azis Boing Sitanggang (SEAFAST Center IPB University) and closed by Prof Dr Umar Santoso (President of IAFT/PATPI), was also addressed by Dr Emmanuel Hatzakis, (Ohio State University, USA), Prof Dr Michael Murkovic (Graz University of Technology, Austria), Dr Dede Adawiyah (IPB University), Dr-Ing Dase Hunaefi (IPB University), Prof Dr Lilis Nuraida (SEAFAST Center IPB University), and Prof Dr Chin-Kun Wang (Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan). (*)

Source: lppm.ipb.ac.id