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by Elhaiza Gq Situmeang

UNPRI Faculty of Agro Technology Holds Public Lecture: Superior Human Resources for Sustainable Palm Oil Industry

Public lecture

Medan – Faculty of Agro Technology UNPRI Holds Public Lecture “Superior Human Resources for Sustainable Palm Oil Industry”, Thursday (10/10/2024) at the Main Campus of UNPRI Jln. Sampul No. 3 Medan.

Faculty of Agro Technology UNPRI presents two speakers, namely Arfie Thahar, MM (Head of BPDPKS Service Program Division), Ardi Praptono, SP., M. Agr (Director of Oil Palm and Various Palm Plants, Directorate General of Plantations). Public lecture was moderated by Dr. Seno Aji, M. Eng Prac.

This public lecture on superior human resources (HR) for the sustainable palm oil industry emphasized the importance of developing technical and managerial skills to support environmentally friendly practices.

Superior HR is needed to adopt technological innovations, such as precision agriculture and renewable energy, which can increase productivity and reduce negative impacts on the environment. In addition, social aspects and worker welfare were also emphasized, including compliance with global sustainability standards such as RSPO.

Both speakers agreed that palm oil fund support plays a significant role in the development of the national palm oil industry, especially through the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS). This fund is allocated for various strategic programs, such as rejuvenation of smallholder oil palms, increasing productivity and research and development of environmentally friendly technologies.

In addition, palm oil funds also support programs that support sustainability, including RSPO and ISPO certification, to ensure that the national palm oil industry complies with global standards. This assistance helps small farmers improve their yields and production quality, and encourages the development of renewable energy such as biodiesel, which strengthens the competitiveness of the Indonesian palm oil industry in the international market.

Collaboration between government, industry, and academics is very important to create competent and integrated human resources in achieving the sustainability goals of the palm oil industry.

The Dean of the Faculty of Agro Technology, Dr. Suratni Afrianti, ST., Msi, explained that UNPRI is one of the private universities in Medan City, with eight faculties, including the Faculty of Agro Technology which houses two study programs, namely the Agro Technology Study Program and the Agribusiness Study Program.

The UNPRI Faculty of Agro Technology focuses on the development of the palm oil sector. Established since 2012, this faculty has produced many graduates who have successful careers as young planters in various palm oil companies in Indonesia.

"We are proud because the Faculty of Agro Technology has competent lecturers in the field of agriculture, especially palm oil. In addition, this faculty also collaborates with practicing lecturers from palm oil plantation companies, thus further enriching the experience and knowledge of students," he said.

The Faculty of Agro Technology has achieved various achievements, including winning research grants, both from lecturers and students. In the last two years, the Faculty of Agro Technology has been trusted by BPDPKS to organize the Palm Oil Plantation HR Program (PKS).

In 2023, this program involved 30 students, and in 2024 it increased to 90 students. "This is a great pride for us, and for that, we express our deepest gratitude to BPDPKS. We hope that this program will continue to grow in the future, because we are ready to be a trustworthy partner," he said.

According to him, this public lecture is a form of the Faculty of Agro Technology's commitment to continue to improve the quality of human resources, both students and lecturers, so that they can further deepen their knowledge in the field of palm oil. We hope that this event can run smoothly and meaningfully.

In addition to being attended by 400 students from the Faculty of Agro Technology, Faculty of Psychology, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, and Faculty of Science and Technology, it was also attended by Koko Junaedi, SE., MSi (PT. Anugrah Langkat Makmur), Asma Nabila, SE., MSi (Palm Oil Research Center), Eddy Gurning (PT. Sumber Rejeki Baru), Ahmad Sayuti, SP (PTPN 2), Herry Dermawan Putra (PTPN 4 Regional 2) and other companies.

Umairah Zein Pulungan, a student of the Faculty of Agro Technology UNPRI explained that this public lecture was very good and added a lot of new insights. The resource person was also very good at presenting the material so that it was easy to understand.

"I hope there will be more public lecture activities like this, besides being able to add new knowledge, I can also get to know more great people who can memo my motivation to be even better”, he said.

He hopes that programs such as rejuvenation of smallholder oil palm, innovative research, and the application of environmentally friendly technology can be further improved, so that oil palm productivity can continue to increase without damaging the environment.

In addition, it is hoped that industry players, including small farmers, can be more competitive through sustainability certification such as RSPO and ISPO. “With strong collaboration between government, industry, and society, we can build a sustainable, inclusive palm oil industry that supports the national economy”, he explained.