TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Head of Jambi's Provincial Plantation Office, Agusrizal, has said in 2018 the Provincial Administration will conduct a replanting program of 20,000 hectares of palm oil in six districts. The program is expected to run in Muarojambi, Batanghari, West Tanjungjabung, Bungo, Merangin and Tebo.
"One of the efforts taken by the government to realize the plan is to provide grants from the Ministry of Finance through the Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP) of palm oil for farmer groups who have four hectares land of Rp25,000,000 per hectare," Agusrizal said on Friday.
To gain the aid the farmers should meet some requirements. Among them, farmers should have a land area of 40 hectares, Agusrizal explained. "The farmers should propose their proposal to a cooperative which will serve as a bridge between them and the Agency," he said.
The distribution of replanting grants in groups is also limited to 300 hectares of palm oil plantations. The other condition is the replanted palm oil should have high quality crops.
Based on data from the Jambi Provincial Plantation Office, currently there are 13 Village Cooperative Units (KUD) that apply for financial assistance from the Ministry of Finance through the Directorate General of Plantation.
The two cooperatives are Hitam Jaya in Merangin District, which manages over 140 hectares land, and Sawit Kita in Tanjung Jabung Barat Distrct which manages more than 171 hectares land.
"The two cooperatives have already been recommended by the Directorate General, and the proposals have been submitted to Palm Oil Agency. Meanwhile, the other cooperatives are being verified by district and province authorities. The total land area that we have already proposed to Directorate General is 3,016 hectares," Agusrizal noted.
ANTARA
