Tuesday, 30 July 2013

FOREST COMMUNITIES NEED EMPOWERMENT



The Ministry of Forestry planned to foster collaboration between Perum Perhutani and the people and businesspeople as a collaboration model in forestry to be implemented in some locations outside Java. This was disclosed by the Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hasan.
               
Recently Perum Perhutani was engaged in collaboration with the Indonesia Council of Ulamas [MUI], Indonesia Andika Coorperatives and PT Dua Kelinci on umat empowerment through peanut industry. This collaboration was expected to promote welfare of the forest communities and people’s role in forest conversation.
               
“A partnership as such was a good collaboration plan between the Government, land owners [Perhutani], Pesantren Islamic schools as executors and businesspeople who planned to accommodate the yields” Zulkifli said.
               
To build prosperous forest communities and conserve forest, nurturing was necessary so the forest communities could be independent and professional in managing forest resources.
               
“If nurturing were exercised the synergic and harmonious was, I am sure welfare of the forest communities and forest conservation could be bettered” Zulkifli remarked.
               
As one of the of the important factors of forest development process, religious exemplary figures of MUI played a strategic role as motivators of social-religious development and people’s economy development including the forest communities.
               
Partnership with production processor companies lie PT Dua Kelinci, could solve marketing problem so there was assurance that Farmers production yields was well marketed and prices were well stabilized.
               
The roles of cooperative societies were great in the chain of farmers guidelining system starting from seeding, soil processing, maintenance, distribution and sales.
               
“I expect all parties could exercise collaboration which had been well agreed upon and use their rights and responsibilities so the best performance could be achieved” Zulkifli said.
               
Other ways to promote well being of forest communities was through People’s Plantation Forest [HTR]. This HTR program was one of the efforts of the RI Government through the Ministry of Forestry to promote people’s welfare, especially the communities living in areas near the location of permit holders.
               
Success of this program was thanks to support by the Regency authority and related companies through Corporate Social Responsibility Plan [CSR] which was expected to foster collaboration with the local communities and willingness of the communities to progress.
               


The Forestry Minister expected that idle land in the regions could be utilized by the local communities for extra income by planting plants like rubber, Sengon and Jati teakwood as long term project, and vegetables and beans as short tem project, as well as livestock farming. (SS)       


Business News - July 12,2013       

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