Various stakeholders in Central Sulawesi declared the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Sustainable Oil Palm Plantations in Central Sulawesi Province as a forum for collaboration to improve the governance of the palm oil industry that is more inclusive, fair, and sustainable, Tuesday (21/7/2026).
The establishment of this forum was motivated by the large role of palm oil in the national economy. This industry is one of Indonesia’s largest foreign exchange contributors with a value of around US$20-27.75 billion per year or around 12 percent of total non-oil and gas exports.
The palm oil sector also contributes around 1.6 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), generates tax revenues of up to tens of trillions of rupiah, and directly absorbs more than 4.5 million workers.
However, the palm oil sector still faces various problems, ranging from low productivity of smallholder plantations, land conflicts, legality and licensing issues, market demands for sustainable products, to the impact of climate change.
In Central Sulawesi, the problem is increasingly complex. The low productivity of community gardens, the inequality of relations between companies and plasma farmers, the demand for sustainability certification, and agrarian conflicts are challenges that need to be resolved together.
The Coordinator of the Multi-Party Forum on Sustainable Oil Palm Plantations in Central Sulawesi, Asmi Sirajudin, said the formation of the forum was the result of a dialogue process that had started in 2024 by the Ekonesia Foundation with various parties, ranging from academics, indigenous peoples, civil society organizations, business actors, to the government.
“We started this initiative in 2024 through a series of discussions with the parties. We want to find solutions together on how to minimize various problems and impacts of the palm oil industry in Central Sulawesi,” he said when introducing the declaration at a hotel in Palu City, Tuesday (21/7/2026).
According to Asmi, the results of the study show that the area of oil palm plantations in Central Sulawesi has reached nearly 300 thousand hectares, with the largest concentrations in Donggala, Morowali, and North Morowali Regencies.
However, the size of the area is not completely proportional to the improvement of community welfare. Various problems such as low productivity, economic benefits that are not optimal for the community, and social conflicts still often occur.
“We hope that all interested parties can jointly encourage good palm oil governance for the benefit of the region. After the discussion process since 2024, we agreed to need a multi-stakeholder forum as a collaboration space. Today is the momentum for a joint declaration to start the work,” he said.
On the same occasion, Tadulako University Academician, Ahlis Djirimu, assessed that the establishment of the forum was a strategic step because Central Sulawesi had long been known as one of the oil palm producing areas before the rapid development of the mining sector.
He explained, almost all districts in Central Sulawesi have oil palm plantations, except for Sigi and Banggai Islands Regencies.
According to Ahlis, in the 2024-2025 period, oil palm plantation areas in Morowali and Buol will begin to face pressure due to mining expansion. In fact, the rate of deforestation triggered by mining activities is considered to be greater than the expansion of oil palm plantations.
“What we need now is the synergy of all parties so that the benefits of palm oil are greater for the region, especially if it is managed with environmentally friendly principles. The next challenge is how to meet sustainability standards that are now demanded by the global market,” he said.
He also highlighted the undeveloped downstream palm oil industry in Central Sulawesi. So far, most of the downstream process is still carried out in West Sulawesi Province so that the added value of the economy has not been fully enjoyed by the people of Central Sulawesi.
Meanwhile, a representative of the Central Sulawesi ATR/BPN Regional Office, Nasril, said that land issues are still one of the biggest challenges in the oil palm plantation industry.
“Our function is related to land rights. We hope that this forum can help solve the problem of land conflicts on the ground. Business actors must also ensure that all formal requirements, including licensing and administration, have been met before operating,” he said.
Nasril added that the land acquisition process still often raises problems. Therefore, companies are encouraged to have maps and documentation of the land acquisition process as part of mitigation if disputes arise in the future.
“The affected communities must be fully involved in every land acquisition process,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Central Sulawesi Plantation Crop Protection Unit, Nivira Leil, said the forum was expected to be able to strengthen the empowerment of farmers, especially in increasing the productivity of community gardens.
He explained that the government has been routinely assisting the determination of the price of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) with companies every month to ensure that farmers get a decent price.
In addition, repairing road infrastructure to the production center is also a homework that must be completed immediately because it greatly affects the distribution of crops.
“Palm oil actually has many derivative products that can provide economic added value. It is unfortunate that this potential has not been utilized to the fullest in Central Sulawesi,” he said.
Nivira hopes that the forum will not only be a discussion space, but also be able to produce recommendations and various policy breakthroughs that are beneficial for the development of sustainable oil palm plantations in the region.
The Central Sulawesi Provincial Government’s Legal Bureau noted that the biggest problem of the oil palm plantation sector in the region is still related to the governance of the core-plasma partnership which has not been running optimally.
In addition, there are still frequent overlaps in land tenure, cooperative institutional issues, partnership relations between companies and plasma farmers, and transmigration areas that intersect with Limited Production Forest (HPT) areas.
The local government also noted that there are still a number of plantation companies that do not have certainty of land rights, including not yet pocketing the Right to Use Business (HGU), so that it has the potential to trigger conflicts in the field.
Through the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Sustainable Oil Palm Plantations, all stakeholders hope that a dialogue space will be born that is able to bridge various interests, mediate conflicts, and produce policy recommendations to realize oil palm plantation governance that is more transparent, fair, sustainable, and able to provide the greatest benefits to the people of Central Sulawesi.