JAKARTA – Bogor University of Agriculture (IPB) Professor Budi Mulyanto has called on the general public to see the proposal of President Prabowo Subianto to expand and strengthen Indonesian palm oil industries with a clear and comprehensive thinking. It is part of the government’s strategy to realize Indonesia’s self-sufficiency in foods and energy sources.

Prof. Budi Mulyanto was commenting on the statement made by President Prabowo when addressing the national conference on national development plan held by the national development planning ministry/national development planning board (Bappenas) recently in Jakarta.

“I think it’s a very appropriate step that President Prabowo has paid a special attention to palm oil industries as part of government’s efforts to realize food and energy self-sufficiency as envisioned by the President in what is called Astacita program,” said Prof. Budi Mulyanto during a public discussion on Tuesday (January 8, 2025).

According to him, Indonesia needs to further develop its oil palm plantations as part of the country’s program to meet the increasing needs of foods and green energy, and to generate higher economic growth, especially through the increase of palm oil exports to earn foreign exchange for the country.

According to him, the expansion of oil palm plantations is still possible in Indonesia by utilizing the marginal and degraded land areas, which are still quite large for optimum palm cultivation.

“The degraded land areas are not yet optimally utilized. Therefore, the availability of such lands on a large scale will also support the steps taken by forestry minister to convert 20 million hectares of land for production of foods and green energy sources. It’s very relevant and very possible from a technical and regulatory perspective,” he said.

Prof. Budi Mulyanto said that the challenge is the fact that many people still think that the marginal and degraded land areas are still covered by forest. The solution is to provide a rational explanation with relevant data, so as not to cause misunderstanding.

“Regarding the aspect of environmental sustainability, if it is developed on land that is not forested, the expansion of oil palm plantations has nothing to do with deforestation. In fact, the development of oil palm plantations in such degraded lands will environmentally restore the areas, making them greener, more productive economically and socially. This activity greatly contributes to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as recommended by the UN,” he concluded. (*)

Rencana Presiden Prabowo Perluas Sawit, Guru Besar IPB: Sudah Tepat, Masih Ada Lahan Marginal | Source: sawitindonesia.com