Affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic, Palm Oil Farmers Experienced Adversity

TRIBUNBATAM.id - Indonesian palm oil farmers were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. This is in line with the low price of Fresh Fruit Bunches (TBS) due to the coronavirus impact.

Senior Advisor of the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Farmers Forum (Fortasbi), Rukaiyah Rafik said, in addition to low prices, oil palm farmers also felt many difficulties.

One of them since the implementation of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB), has made palm oil mills and manufacturing activities slow. 

"Many independent smallholders do not have the means to transport their TBS to mills, they depend on intermediaries or intermediary businesses to provide these services, but because restrictions on activities have affected them and their main livelihood sources," she said in a press release on Saturday ( 6/20/2020). 

According to Rukaiyah, the pandemic also affected fertilizer stocks and inputs for their plantations. This makes the oil palm farmers must have a business and other crops that are processed to support their livelihoods. 

Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the Oil Palm Farmers Union (SPKS), Mansuetus Darto said, the price of TBS had dropped below Rp 1,000 per kilogram at the level of independent farmers. 

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As for the price of TBS plasma farmers (farmers who partner with oil palm producing companies) recorded between Rp 1,200 and Rp 1,300 per kilogram. 

"Prices below Rp 1,100 are difficult for farmers who have more than two children, especially if their children are in tertiary education, or those who have other family members who depend on them. Because their productivity is also low, between 1 and 1.2 tons per hectare per month, they have to sell their produce to intermediaries and not yet have to pay the debt burden to the middlemen because the farmers have loans," he said. 

He said, many oil palm farmers did not have any other source of income or only relied on palm oil. Farmers also often complain about rising fertilizer prices which are sometimes difficult to get.

"There is no health protocol for farmers. Farmers need cash, while the transaction process for TBS for farmers who sell to companies is usually processed between one or two weeks after the product is sent to mills or plantations, " he explained. (*) 

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