Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo expressed hope that by 2022, the Indonesian plantation sector could become more advanced, independent and modern, and be able to dominate the export market. According to Syahrul, this is possible because plantations have become a strategic sector that supports the positive performance of agriculture, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. "This is a momentum for consolidation of what we have done one year ago, and what we will do in the coming year. So in 2022, plantations must become a sector that is increasingly independent and modern," said Syahrul when opening the Plantation Development Coordination Meeting in Bogor, some time ago.
He explained that the plantation sector must have a superior program that can actualize this sector in the coming year. Syahrul encourages this sector to be able to carry out various forms of acceleration, from upstream to downstream, among others, by boldly displaying new leading commodities in the plantation sector. "Not only palm oil, we have other leading plantation commodities that also have great potential, even in the world market, but there are also coffee, coconut, cashew nuts, cocoa, rubber, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves, as well as other plantation commodities. This potential can be our capital to make leaps and bounds," said Syahrul.
Based on records from the Statistics Indonesia, the value of agricultural exports in January-November 2021 reached IDR 569.11 trillion, an increase of 42.47 percent compared to the same period in 2020 of IDR 399.45 trillion. Most of this value is contributed by the plantation sector. "This performance must continue to be maintained and even improved. In the future I want coffee shops in the world to have Indonesian coffee, and other plantation products to be in strategic places in the world," he said.
On the same occasion, Acting Director-General of Plantations, Ali Jamil, said that Indonesia has a total plantation area of 27.5 million hectares, with 65 percent of which are smallholder plantations. This community plantation, continued Jamil, requires the support of various parties to face various challenges, both in terms of productivity, business scale, land ownership, capital, financing, and technological innovation. "People's smallholders need support to rise in the face of some of the challenges faced in developing plantation development, so there needs to be government intervention, cooperation, and synergy between ministries, institutions, and other stakeholders," said Jamil.
The budget scheme in the development of smallholder plantations has begun to be directed so that it does not only depend on the state budget but is directed at the use of KUR, CSR, and other financing sources. "Therefore, we ask all ranks of agriculture and related stakeholders to work together to ensure the implementation of activities until the plantation development goals are achieved," he said.
