Monday, October 25, 2021
The palm oil business is one of the businesses that if managed properly and correctly will bring huge profits. Palm oil itself is a plant whose fruit can be managed into crude palm oil (CPO) with a fairly high economic value. In Indonesia, CPO is one of the largest contributors of foreign exchange from the agribusiness sector. Indonesia produces millions of tons of CPO every year. With the increasing market demand and lucrative profits from the business, some people are tempted and flock to learn how to cultivate this palm plant.
Talking about palm oil is not only about the profits it makes, but how it affects people's lives in Indonesia. Many people praise that oil palm plantations have opened up opportunities for
people to get jobs with decent incomes. True, workers on plantations are said to receive
wages that are sufficient to meet their daily needs. But, does this guarantee that these palms are sufficiently accepted by ordinary people who do not understand the process and run
this business? What is the impact of oil palm plantations on the community itself?
This statement was rejected by plantation managers who stated that the bad image circulating in the market about Indonesian palm oil was not true and was a black campaign for the palm
industry in the country.
They assume that the accusations are aimed at palm oil in Indonesia because the western
world feels pressured by the increase in CPO production in the country. But is this a defense
or is it just to deny reality?
The large scale expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia has had a huge impact
on people living in areas where plantations are based, such as Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Many residents of these two large islands consider that the deforestation that occurs in their
area is due to land clearing for plantations.
This deforestation is considered to be able to eliminate the function of the forest and damage
the existing ecosystem and biodiversity due to deforestation. In fact, this can be circumvented by proper environmental management while still adhering to management standards that
do not damage the environment.
Environmental damage is actually caused by the use of chemical fertilizers that are not accompanied by the use of organic fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers tend to fertilize trees but have
no effect on the soil. Meanwhile, organic fertilizers are made from microorganisms by prioritizing biotechnology that focuses on soil fertility. Well, one of them is Super MOAF fertilizer from PT Propadu Konair Tarahubun (Plantation Key Technology/PKT). As an organic fertilizer developer, this environmentally friendly palm technology company is committed to maintaining
mineral levels in the soil and promoting environmentally friendly principles for the survival
of the community, especially those who live in the plantation area.
From an economic point of view, this palm oil is definitely profitable because the production is in the form of crude palm oil, which is a non oil and gas foreign exchange contributor
for Indonesia. The bright prospect of CPO encourages the government to continue to expand
the plantation area.
This is not only profitable for companies that have been in this business for a long time, but
also opens up opportunities for smallholder plantations to prove that their quality is no less
competitive with other companies in their class.
In the Indonesian economy, CPO plays an important role because this commodity has bright
prospects as a source of foreign exchange. In addition, CPO is the raw material for
cooking oil for people's daily needs. Not only that, this CPO is also a raw material for making
soap, cosmetics and ice cream.
Some of the real benefits are the opening of job opportunities so as to reduce the burden
So the actual impct is not negative right?