The minister made the remarks in his key note address in a roundtable discussion on Indonesian sustainable palm oil in Berlin organized by the Indonesian Embassy and the Ministry of Agriculture, Councillor for Social and Cultural Affairs of the Indonesian Embassy n Berlin, Ayodhia GL Kalake told ANTARA in London on Sunday.
According to the minister, the government support is part of the national program in increasing palm oil productivity carried out without ignoring the environmental aspect.
This is important to be underlined as it is connected to the accusations from various sides that the Indonesian government ignored the protection aspect of the environment in opening of new lands.
He said that with such an extensive land it had -reaching eight million hectares- Indonesia`s productivity was still lower than the other country which had land only half of Indonesia`s.
Indonesia has issued various laws for supporting the development of palm oil in the country, among others the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) which would be implemented as of January 1, 2015.
According to the minister the government will also continue to encourage the cultivation of small-holder`s plantation which covers 42 percent of all oil palm land. The government will train farmers, maintain plantation, provide it with fertilizers and conduct replanting.
The minister said partnership with small farmers remained to one of the agenda of the Ministry of Agriculture in increasing palm oil production.
In the meantime, Indonesian Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany Eddy Pratomo said the roundtable discussion activity was a form of the government`s and Indonesia`s representative`s attention in the face of the very competitive market in Europe. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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