Finance Minister urges private capital into smallholder palm
The government is tying palm oil investment to replanting, supply-chain traceability, downstream output and quality jobs.
Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara urged private investment in the palm oil industry to flow through the entire value chain, including smallholder farmers, so productivity, downstream processing and the creation of quality jobs can rise. He delivered the message at the Plantation360 forum in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday (13/10).
Suahasil pointed to Indonesia's more than 16,8 million hectares of oil palm plantations, about 41 percent of which are managed by smallholders. He said investment should open access to financing, technology, markets and knowledge for farmers, not just add capital upstream.
He outlined three priorities: making sustainability an investment draw, strengthening the role of government and financing institutions through risk-sharing schemes, and placing smallholders at the core of the business model. The schemes are also aimed at plantation replanting, supply-chain traceability and downstream industries such as oleochemicals, biomaterials, B50, green diesel and sustainable aviation fuel.