JAKARTA – The social sustainability is one aspect of sustainability which is necessary to realize a balance and quality sustainability. It can be seen through the impacts of palm oil industries to the people living around.

The Palm Oil Agribusiness Strategic Policy Institute (PASPI), an independent agricultural research and development institution, reported that the social sustainability of palm oil business can be measured through its impacts to, among others, village development and poverty eradication.

“The indicators are based on the empirical studies that had been conducted that showed that as labor intensive industry, the oil palm plantations employ a large number of people of various skills and backgrounds. Workers employed by the palm oil industries have amounted to more than 17 million people,” PASPI resported as published by Palm Oil Indonesia on Tuesday, 10 May 2022.

“Generally, income received by workers (cash and non-cash) is higher than the UMR (regional minimum wage) and even higher than others working in other agricultural sectors with the same working period and education,” it stated.

In addition to that, PASPI also found that the number of oil palm farmers’ businesses had amounted to around 2.6 million businesses with an average income much higher than those of non-oil-palm farmers in the respective regions.

Many other studies have proven that the multiplier effect of oil palm plantations is quite big to regional development and poverty eradication. The number of goods and service suppliers needed by the oil palm plantations have also increased along with the growth of oil palm plantations in the respective regions.

The growth of oil palm plantations have also pushed up the growth of other industries, especially foods, animal farms and fisheries in the surrounding areas. “That means the development of the oil palm plantations has created a multiplier effect (particularly in terms of income and employment) that has driven the growth of other economic sectors in the villages,” Palm Oil Indonesia said.

Data from PASPI shows that the economic growth of regions with oil palm plantations is faster than other regions without oil palm plantations. The growth of the oil palm plantations has significantly reduced the poverty rate in villages.

The emergence of new growth centers in villages, which are previously remote and less developed areas in 235 regencies and 25 provinces, is driven by the growth of oil palm plantations.

Source: wartaekonomi.co.id