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Musi Banyuasin, South Sumatra – Indonesia's Cooperatives Minister, Ferry Juliantono, has called upon state-owned PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara to develop a robust palm oil ecosystem that fully integrates cooperatives and local farmers. Speaking at the National Seminar on Cooperative-Based Palm Oil Optimization and Downstreaming held here on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, Juliantono highlighted Malaysia's Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) as a successful model for consolidating smallholder plantations.
Minister Juliantono pointed out that despite Malaysia's comparatively smaller land area dedicated to palm oil, its crude palm oil (CPO) production and export volumes remain remarkably close to Indonesia's. 'That means there is a difference in management,' he stated, suggesting a significant potential for improvement in Indonesian practices. He detailed Indonesia's palm oil plantation structure: 54 percent managed by large companies, 43 percent by smallholder plantations, and 3 percent by state entities. The minister emphasized the need to empower the substantial smallholder segment by strengthening farmer institutions through cooperatives, enabling them to play a more prominent role across the palm oil industry value chain.
Agrinas Palma Nusantara is expected to directly foster this ecosystem with cooperatives, focusing on enhancing large-scale CPO sales, extending reach into export markets, and bolstering Indonesia's overall CPO export capacity. Furthermore, the minister urged the development of downstream industries, including the production of derivative products like cooking oil. 'We should also export our CPO abroad. That is actually what we want, and we will build that ecosystem so large-scale CPO sales can take place,' Juliantono affirmed.
Responding to the minister's directive, PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara President Director Mohammad Abdul Ghani explained the company's unique mandate. Under Presidential Regulation No. 5 of 2025, Agrinas is tasked with managing palm oil plantations established on land recovered from illegally opened forest areas. Ghani confirmed that Agrinas is obligated to allocate at least 20 percent of this entrusted land as smallholder plots (plasma) for public benefit. Fulfilling this requirement necessitates close collaboration with cooperatives in land management, with Agrinas prioritizing local cooperatives as vendors for essential activities such as plant maintenance and harvesting. 'We will prioritize cooperatives around the land as vendors for plant maintenance, harvesting, and other activities,' Ghani stated.
Source: ANTARA News