Report on the mission to PT MEDCO oil palm plantations in Central Kalimantan (Indonesia) from 3 to 12 February 2004

Bonneau Xavier, Jannot Claude, Noël Jean-Marc. 2004. Report on the mission to PT MEDCO oil palm plantations in Central Kalimantan (Indonesia) from 3 to 12 February 2004. Montpellier : CIRAD-CP, 48 p. N° de rapport : CP_SIC 1705

Résumé : The road and track network is in poor condition: it needs to be repaired and regularly maintained. Land preparation and planting have begun in the Inti at Sukamandang, under acceptable conditions. The planting period in Central Kalimantan is between November and March. The soils are ferralitic (suitable for cultivation) to podzolic (unsuitable). A pedological study is proposed for the Sukamandang Inti. Some plots planted in peat bottomlands should be abandoned. A fertilizer schedule is given for the young Inti palms (years 1 and 2). For 2005 and 2006, we are planning to apply high fertilizer rates to rehabilitate palms displaying deficiencies, involving an investment of around US$ 3 million per year; this is to be confirmed by the leaf analysis scheduled for the second half of 2004. Thereafter, mineral nutrition will be managed in line with an annual leaf analysis combined with one or two reference trials. The Kumai oil mill has a capacity of 30 t FFB/hr, which can be expanded to 60 t FFB/hr by installing a second production line. The installation and the equipment, which are of generally good quality, have been amply sized and even oversized in some cases, with probable operating and maintenance repercussions. An oil mill with one production line and a capacity of 30 t FFB/hr expandable to 45 t FFB/hr would probably have been sufficient and much less expensive in terms of investment and operating costs. Mill construction has not been completed and investments of around US$ 0.85 to 1.35 million will be required in the next two years, notably for: - the construction of offices, a laboratory, workshops and stores, along with worker and manager housing, - completion of the second storage tank and various process improvements, - installation of a back-up boiler within a reasonable period, given the worrying condition of the existing boiler, of Indian origin, after less than 1,500 hours' operation. This additional investment should amount to around US$ 400,000. Since the mill came on stream in May 2003, the oil and kernel extraction rates, at 22.4% and 4.3% respectively, are good, or even excellent when the young age of the plantations is taken into account, along with discontinuous mill operation due to low FFB yields. In terms of quality, production is also within the norms on average. There can be no denying the skills and motivation of the staff, and the results obtained in terms of personnel training after less than a year are remarkable. For Kumai, if capacity expansion is envisaged, we recommend increasing the capacity of the existing production line from 30 to 45 t FFB/hr, rather than constructing a second line. For Sukamandang, FFB yield forecasts need to be fine-tuned, along with seasonal distribution of yields, to decide on the final capacity of the mill to be constructed. If possible, we recommend constructing a mill with a 45 t FFB/hr production line, as this is the most cost-effective type of mill. We recommend monitoring the flow rates of the rivers at the three sites being considered for Sukamandang mill installation, and more particularly at the most central site near the largest river. The settlement of transmigrants, in 1994 at Kumai and in 1995 at Sukamandang, preceded the involvement of PT Medco, which was assigned the task of setting up the "plasma" oil palm plantations at those two sites. Each transmigrant received housing, a garden of 0.25 ha for his food crops, a second of 0.75 ha on land sometimes far away for crops intended for sale, and 2 ha of plantation. At Kumai, there are now 8 cooperatives operating in 6 villages, managing 7,700 ha planted between 1996 and 2003. At Sukamandang, 4 cooperatives set up in 4 out of the 8 transmigration project villages, manage 5,000 ha planted between 1997 and 2001. Field work is carried out by hired labourers, and increasingly by the beneficiaries of the plots, as their training progresses. They are paid for the work done and, as an incentive, they also receive 10% of

Auteurs et affiliations

• Bonneau Xavier, CIRAD-CP-COCOTIER (FRA)
• Jannot Claude, CIRAD-TERA-AFM (FRA)
• Noël Jean-Marc, CIRAD-CP-PALMIER (FRA)

Source : Cirad - Agritrop (https://agritrop.cirad.fr/520795/)

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