Photo: South Papua Governor Apolo Safanpo (center) met with the board and supervisory members of the Bog Dagon Mandiri Cooperative in Boven Digoel, South Papua, Sunday (9/7)
BOVEN DIGOEL – Tunas Sawa Erma (TSE) Group management, leaders of the Bog Dagon Mandiri Cooperative, and local clan chiefs recently met with South Papua Governor Apolo Safanpo and South Papua’s Papua’s People Assembly Chairman Damianus Katayu regarding the development of a 3,500-hectare palm oil plasma plantation in Jair District.
Their goal was to seek the government’s support, guidance, and oversight to ensure the community project runs smoothly.
Greeting the other parties, Safanpo welcomed the initiative and expressed his full support.
“In principle, our goal as a government is to improve the well-being of our people. But what Bog Dagon Mandiri and the five clans attending today did is a good example for other palm oil-producing regions,” he said. “Every plantation company is legally required to allocate 20% of its land for plasma farming. Failure to do so is a violation of the law.”
During the meeting on Sunday (9/7), the cooperative’s board and supervisory members, as well as clan leaders, were accompanied by representatives from PT Bina Papua Luhurkarya, a firm appointed to mentor local farmers throughout the project.
Meanwhile, the clans present were Ekoki, Gue, Tinggin, Gembenop Arteka, Irowop Kawab, Gembenop Kogu, Domeon, Geremka, Bukop, Mikan, Ita, Kereke, Onggan, and Gerem.
In his presentation to Safanpo, Bog Dagon Mandiri Cooperative’s first chairman, Alowesius Gembenop, described the 3,500-hectare farm as a “long-held dream of five clans that is now becoming a reality”.
Photo: Five clans in Jair District initiated the idea for the farm, said Bog Dagon Mandiri Cooperative’s first chairman
“I really hope this farm can be built soon, so our community can earn a steady income to meet daily needs and boost their household finances. We ask for the Governor’s guidance and support to ensure its construction proceeds on track,” said Gembenop.
Hermanus Kambomop Michan, Bog Dagon Mandiri’s second chairman, echoed this sentiment. He highlighted the gratitude local communities felt toward TSE Group, which had given a portion of its HGU concession (a concession with rights to cultivate, locally known as “HGU”) for the project.
“We look forward to a smooth HGU transfer [to our cooperative] and also to the Governor’s support during this process at the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning,” Michan said. “We also hope for your [Safanpo] assistance in expediting the required permits from other relevant agencies. Of course, we understand this work requires both time and patience.”
The farm is rooted in Bog Dagon Mandiri’s values of kinship, democracy, equality, and self-reliance, and aligns with the Indonesian government’s agenda to empower local economies. Once established, its income is expected to provide local indigenous children with better learning opportunities, given that quality education is the cornerstone of future prosperity. (PR)
