JAKARTA -The Association of Indonesian Oil Palm Smallholders (Apkasindo) has asked the government not to include palm oil under the authority of the newly-established Plantation Fund Management Board (BPDP), but stay under the Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Board (BPDPKS), which has been changed to the BPDP.
Apkasindo Chairman Gulat ME Manurung said they appreciate the government’s policy to increase the production of cocoa and coconut with the establishment of the BPDP based on the presidential regulation (Perpres) No.132/2024.
“But we ask for the exclusion of palm oil from the management of the newly-established BPDP. It’s better that the BPDPKS is maintained as an institution to manage palm oil fund, which is needed to finance all programs of palm oil development, including replanting program for smallholders’ plantations,” he said in a press statement in Jakarta on Sunday (27/10/2024) as quoted by Antara.
According to him, the inclusion of palm oil under the authority of BPDP was conducted very hastily, just two days before the transfer of administration from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to President Prabowo Subianto, without in-depth study and without involving palm oil stakeholders in designing the plan to put palm oil, cocoa, coconut under the newly-established BPDP.
“This new institution should only manage cocoa and coconut,” he said.
“Therefore, we urge President Prabowo Subianto to revoke the Perpres 132/2024 and reapply the previous Perpres that rules the institution of BPDPKS,” he said.
According to Gulat, the issuance of Perpres 132/2024 on the formation of BPDP and annihilation BPDPKS has worried the oil palm smallholders, especially those undertaking the process of getting funding for replanting program in their plantations.
Gulat said that the fund collected by BPDPKS is not from the state budget (APBN) but is derived from export levies, which are also contributed by smallholders.
Based on the calculation of Apkasindo, in September 2024 the CPO export levies were set at US$62 per ton, which has financially burdened palm smallholders at Rp192/kg with the assumption of extraction rate of palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB) at 20% and by this October the financial burden has risen again, while the price of FFB only reached Rp208/kg. (*)
