JAKARTA: Indonesia aims to double subsidies for palm oil replanting to 60 million rupiah ($3,785.49) per hectare from May to boost farmers’ participation, Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Thursday.
Palm oil output from the world’s biggest producer, Indonesia, has stagnated in recent years, and the government launched a subsidised replanting programme for farmers in 2016 to improve output without clearing more land. The government aims to get 180,000 hectares (444,790 acres) of smallholders’ plantations replanted every year, but the programme has been lagging due to administrative hurdles and farmers’ concerns over loss of income while they wait for the trees to mature.
Only 331,000 hectares have been approved for replanting so far, of total 2.5 million hectares targeted. Indonesia funds the programme through levies collected from crude palm oil exports.
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