Indonesia has announced plans to open 600,000 hectares of new land for palm oil cultivation over the next four years, marking the first expansion since a moratorium on new permits ended in 2021. The programme will allocate 400,000 hectares to smallholder “plasma” plantations and 200,000 hectares to state-owned PalmCo, with private firms also invited to participate. Officials say the expansion aims to boost stagnant output and meet rising demand for food and energy, particularly as Indonesia prepares to raise its biodiesel blend mandate to 50%. The government insists forests will not be cleared, though environmental groups like Greenpeace warn the plan risks deforestation, agrarian conflicts, and undermining emission-reduction commitments. Palm oil yields in Indonesia have declined from above four tonnes per hectare in 2020 to 3.8 tonnes today, with total plantation area at 16 million hectares. The expansion could add around two million tonnes of output, but critics argue replanting existing smallholder plots would be more sustainable. A subsidised replanting scheme launched in 2016 has seen limited uptake, with only 400,000 hectares approved out of a 2.5 million-hectare target. The move highlights Indonesia’s balancing act between economic growth, energy security, and environmental responsibility, while Malaysia, in contrast, is positioning its palm oil industry as a driver of net-zero goals through waste-to-resource innovation and stricter sustainability certification.Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/779546  (ICE GIACARTA)

Fonte notizia: The Edge of Malaysia, 13 November 2025