EU Delegates Check on RI Oil Palm Plantations

Socioeconomic factors and the environment were the two major concerns expressed by European Union delegates in their observation of sustainable oil palm plantation management in Jambi.

KOMPAS/ALBERTUS HENDRIYO WIDI

European Union delegates, led by EU Ambassador to Indonesia Vincent Guerend (blue batik), visit an oil palm processing facility in Tungkal Ulu, West Tanjung Jabung regency, Jambi, on Monday. The trip, organized by the Foreign Ministry, aims to provide EU decisionmakers with firsthand information about Indonesia’s palm oil industry.

JAMBI, KOMPAS – Socioeconomic factors and the environment were the two major concerns expressed by European Union (EU) delegates in their observation of sustainable oil palm plantation management in Jambi. They asked questions on farmers’ welfare, deforestation and biodiversity on oil palm plantations.

On Tuesday (17/4/2018), EU delegates – comprising 12 ambassadors and embassy representatives from the EU, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom – visited an oil palm plantation managed by state plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) VI in Batanghari, Jambi. They were there to observe environment management practices and local biodiversity. Previously, they had visited the Tungkal Ulu plantation managed by private palm oil company PT Inti Indosawit Subur, a subsidiary of palm oil giant Asian Agri, in West Tanjung Jabung regency.