Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) and PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara (APN) have agreed to establish a strategic partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen synergy between academia and the national business sector in supporting the sustainable development of Indonesia’s agriculture, plantations, and food security. In its initial phase, the collaboration will focus on developing oil palm, one of Indonesia’s strategic commodities that makes a significant contribution to the national economy.
UGM Rector, Professor Ova Emilia, welcomed the strategic partnership plan. She emphasized the importance of adopting a sustainable farming concept in plantation management. Beyond focusing solely on production output, agricultural practices must also ensure long-term sustainability. For UGM, sustainability also means creating tangible benefits for surrounding communities and farmers.
“The success of a program should not only be measured by production output but also by the extent to which it can improve community welfare in a meaningful and sustainable way,” she said.
Professor Ova stated that UGM is prepared to support human resource capacity building through undergraduate and graduate education programs, with curricula tailored to industry needs. She also highlighted the importance of engaging multiple disciplines, including agriculture, economics, social sciences, and law, to provide comprehensive perspectives for addressing complex challenges.
“UGM is highly comprehensive, so everyone is invited to contribute because each discipline has its own perspective and role to play,” she said.
In addition, she noted that student involvement through the Community Service Program (KKN) could strengthen social relations while supporting community empowerment in plantation areas. She hopes this approach can be further developed with APN on a broader scale.
“We have implemented this approach in smaller plantation areas through KKN programs, and it has proven effective in strengthening ties with local communities,” she said.
PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara Director, Mohammad Abdul Ghani, stated that the company currently manages approximately 4.11 million hectares of oil palm plantations spread across Indonesia, from Aceh to Papua.
Going forward, he explained that the scope of collaboration will also be expanded to include developing strategic commodities that support national food security and strengthen the food industry, such as corn, soybeans, and cassava.
“With such an extensive area under management, we certainly cannot work alone. Therefore, we invite UGM to contribute through its roles in education, research, and community service,” he said.
Ghani further emphasized the importance of involving farmers through organic, sustainable partnership models. According to him, conventional partnership approaches, which tend to be transactional, should be transformed into closer, more collaborative relationships to improve farmers’ efficiency and productivity, which currently remain below corporate levels. To support these efforts, PT APN has established two dedicated directorates responsible for sustainability from both environmental and social perspectives.
“At Agrinas Palma Nusantara, we are formulating future policies to become a company that fully complies with sustainability principles, both environmentally and socially. Such a model is still rarely implemented in Indonesia’s plantation industry,” he explained.
This strategic partnership also marks PT APN’s commitment to allocating a portion of its business profits to support Legal Entity State Universities (PTN-BH). The scheme represents an innovative collaboration model expected to strengthen the financial independence of higher education institutions through productive synergy between academia and the national business sector.
“We greatly look forward to UGM’s support, ranging from studies and research to technology development. We also aim to establish superior seed propagation centers and develop digital systems that can help improve farmers’ productivity,” Ghani said.
With UGM’s extensive expertise and PT APN’s business capacity in developing strategic commodities, both parties are optimistic that the partnership will make a meaningful contribution to strengthening Indonesia’s plantation and food sectors. The collaboration is expected to generate innovations and development models that increase the added value of national commodities, support the welfare of farmers and communities, and contribute to the broader agenda of strengthening national food security.
Author: Cyntia Noviana
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-Editor: Zabrina Kumara
Photo: Donnie