JAKARTA – Palm oil is the most prepared agricultural product to be used as the source of renewable energy and best solution to strengthen Indonesia’s energy resilience, says Prof. Reni Mayerni, deputy in charge of strategic assessment at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas).
“Capitalizing on palm oil to produce biodiesel is a very strategic step for the Indonesian government in anticipating the energy crisis in the future and in reducing the subsidy of oil fuels from fossil fuels,” said Reni during a public discussion on strengthening state sovereignty through the development of palm oil industry recently.
In her presentation titled “Maintaining State Sovereignty through Optimization of Palm Oil as the Source of Renewable Energy”, she pointed out that there are two energy potentials that can be developed from palm oil. The first one is biodiesel which can be produced from crude palm oil (CPO). And the second is bio-power which can be generated by using the oil palm biomass, such as empty fruit bunches and palm kernel shells.
“As most of oil palm plantations are located in remote areas, the palm oil industry has also contributed to the development of regions and eradication of poverty in regions. By directly absorbing more than 16 million workers and contributing the largest foreign exchange earning to the country, the palm oil industry has become the most important economic sector for Indonesia,” Reni noted.
The Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Board (BPDPKS) President Director Eddy Abdurrachman said that the implementation of the government’s mandatory program of biodiesel 30 percent (B30) has contributed to the national economic growth. “BPDPKS has been assigned to implement a number of development programs based on sustainability principles in the palm oil sector,” he said.
He noted that the Indonesian economy will recover in 2021, as the government will continue its economic recovery program, implement the omnibus law on job creation and Covid-19 vaccination that is expected to free Indonesia from the pandemic. All of the steps are expected to generate higher growth of consumption and investments that will then generate higher national economic growth.
The Indonesian Bioenergy Experts Association’s Chairman Tatang Soerawidjaja said that the palm oil industry has proven itself as the savior of Indonesian economy during the Covid-19 pandemic, as it has been continually seeing positive growth amid the negative growth of other sectors caused by the pandemic.
“Indonesia’s palm oil has a very good quality and can be easily processed into any products, including energy products,” he said.
The Indonesian Palm Oil Smallholders Association (Apkasindo) Chairman Gulat Manurung underlined the importance of partnerships among all stakeholders to maintain the sustainability of palm oil. He said that it includes facilitating the smallholders in clearing the legal status of their plantation areas from the suspected problems of forest encroachment. (*)
Source: Investor Daily | Featured image via akamaized.net
