Indonesia palm oil industry faces safety and farmer welfare challenges

Stakeholders in Indonesia's palm oil industry are highlighting critical challenges facing both large corporations and smallholder farmers. Sumarjono Saragih of GAPKI emphasized the need to strengthen Occupational Health and Safety (K3), noting that both physical safety and worker health must be addressed equally. He pointed out that implementation remains difficult due to the diverse scale of operations and the fact that many small-scale farmers operate as informal workers without full legal labor protections.

Simultaneously, APKASINDO leadership met with IPOSS to discuss systemic issues affecting independent farmers. Gulat ME Manurung reported that the Palm Oil Rejuvenation (PSR) program is struggling due to overly burdensome administrative and technical requirements, leading to a significant decline in annual targets. Other pressing concerns include Fresh Fruit Bunch (TBS) pricing, land legality issues within forest areas, and the potential seizure of farmland, which creates uncertainty for millions of farmers and their families.