Lang
Indonesia’s palm oil industry has called for the establishment of a dedicated palm oil council with broad authority to manage the country’s palm oil industry from upstream to downstream.
The request was presented during a public discussion titled “Comprehensive Analysis of Sustainable Palm Oil Governance,” organized by the Agricultural Journalists Forum (Forwatan) at the Ministry of Agriculture building in Jakarta on December 19, 2024.
The discussion brought together representatives from the Indonesian Palm Oil Council (DMSI), the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), the Indonesian Oil Palm Smallholders Association (Apkasindo), legal experts, and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture.
DMSI chairman Sahat Sinaga emphasized the importance of creating a special palm oil council to support national food and energy security goals.
He said such a council, if given sufficient authority, could help address governance problems and accelerate progress toward food and energy self-sufficiency.
Sahat noted that many ministries and institutions currently manage different parts of the palm oil industry, leading to overlapping authority and regulations.
He said this overlap often prevents problems from being resolved effectively.
GAPKI representative Azis Hidayat said expert teams from several political groups had previously agreed on the need for a dedicated body to manage palm oil issues comprehensively.
He also noted that Indonesia’s Ombudsman had recommended improving public services in the palm oil sector after studying the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) model.
Azis said 37 ministries and institutions are currently involved in palm oil governance, each with different policies and perspectives.
This creates complications, including in legal disputes and issues linked to World Trade Organization cases, he added.
Legal expert Sadino said a dedicated council, whatever its official name, could make palm oil governance more efficient and effective by addressing the disorder caused by overlapping authority.
Apkasindo secretary-general Rino Afrino said technical discussions had already been held with one ministry on the formation of such a council.
He said one key question is whether the council could increase state revenue, not merely respond to complaints.
According to Rino, revenue from the palm oil sector could potentially increase two to three times from its current level, showing that significant potential remains untapped.
Acting Director-General of Plantations Heru Tri Widarto stressed the importance of managing palm oil in accordance with existing regulations and increasing awareness among businesses of their legal obligations.
He said the Directorate-General of Plantations has begun assessing company compliance, especially regarding the obligation to allocate 20% of plantation areas for smallholder plantation development.
Heru added that the directorate aims to develop an electronic registration system (e-STDB) covering 250,000 data entries by 2025, a program considered important for meeting European Union export standards.