Palm oil is the largest foreign exchange contributor, reaching US $ 22.9 billion, for example by the General Chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Business Association. (Gapki) Joko Supriyono.
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Head of Bappenas (National Development Planning Agency), Bambang Brodjonegoro considered oil palm industry plays an important role for the improvement of the welfare of the community. This is because the oil palm industry is able to absorb 16.2 million workers which consist of 4.2 million direct workers and 12 million indirect workers.
He said in oil palm development, Indonesia has to pay attention to inputs and the roles of private secotr and smallholder farmers. “The roles of both main stakeholders are very important in the implementation of the principle of leave no one behind and inclusivity in SDGs in oil palm plantation sector,” he said in a written statement received by Tempo, Friday, 2nd of November 2018.
Bambang also said that the production of oil palm and its derivatives are able to contribute Gross Domestic Product (GDP), sustain economic growth, and improve the performance of Indonesian exports. According to him, the export value of Indonesian oil palm reached Rp240 trillion in 2016.
“That exceeds the export value of our oil and gas. The export trend shows an improvement and in the future, this industry can create more employment opportunities,” he said.
Today, he said, the government is trying to reduce the rate of deforestation on oil palm plantation in order to improve productivity. He said that one of the ways is with the moratorium policy on oil palm plantation and low carbon development. “At the moment, we are trying to do rejuvenation on smallholders oil palm plantation to reduce the rate of deforestation,” he said.
Source : bisnis.tempo.co
