PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA — Amid ongoing challenges in Indonesia’s palm oil governance, a glimmer of reform has emerged. The Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) recently raised the mandatory plasma allocation from 20% to 30% for plantation companies holding Land Use Rights (HGU)—a move welcomed by civil society groups.
The Palm Oil Farmers Union (SPKS), Sawit Watch, and the Indonesian Human Rights Committee for Social Justice (IHCS) all support the policy, viewing it as a concrete step toward agrarian reform and greater land justice in rural Indonesia. More than a numeric increase, the policy is seen as a correction to long-standing land ownership imbalances in palm oil regions.
“Raising the plasma allocation is a crucial step. Even the previous 20% requirement was often unmet—both in area and in the number of beneficiary farmers,” said SPKS Chair Sabarudin, in a statement to beige-heron-208544.hostingersite.com on Monday, May 12, 2025. He emphasized that this policy must go beyond agriculture or forestry domains and become a cross-sectoral standard under the jurisdiction of ATR/BPN as the main land authority.
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One significant follow-up to the policy is the launch of audits on how companies have fulfilled their plasma obligations. In this regard, Gunawan, Senior Advisor to IHCS, said the audits are a long-overdue response to rural communities who have long felt excluded from the benefits of large-scale plantations operating in their areas.
Still, implementation will be no easy task. Achmad Surambo, Executive Director of Sawit Watch, highlighted the regulatory overlap between ministries, which often leads to legal ambiguity. “What was supposed to be land redistribution for communities has often been reduced to mere partnership agreements, weakening the spirit of agrarian reform,” he said.
Surambo also criticized companies that evade plasma obligations by citing land shortages or overlaps with forest zones, noting that many fail to comply and face little oversight. “It’s time for the government to launch a nationwide legal compliance audit,” he urged.
Adding legal weight to the policy is a Constitutional Court ruling on the Plantation Law, which affirms that plantation firms must possess legitimate land rights and business licenses, and that plasma allocations must be calculated based on the land area owned, not on the structure of the partnership.
In an era calling for greater agrarian justice, the ATR/BPN policy is viewed as a potential turning point. The 30% figure is not just a number—it represents a new direction for land reform that favors rural communities amid the dominance of large-scale estates.
All eyes are now on the next steps: comprehensive audits and legal enforcement. Without these, even the most progressive policies risk becoming empty promises. (P2)
