REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SERDANG BEDAGAI -- The government has spent Rp3 trillion to fund a program to rejuvenate the palm oil plantations of people in North Sumatra Province.

"We have spent Rp3 trillion for the palm oil replanting program. However, the challenge is not the budget but the seed supplies," President Joko Widodo stated in a speech during the inauguration of the palm oil rejuvenation program in Kota Tengah Village, Serdang Bedagai District, on Monday.

Widodo said the government requires more funding to rejuvenate thousands of hectares of palm oil plantations in the province.

One of the financing schemes for rejuvenating palm oil is by utilizing the people's business loans.

President Widodo said the farmers should replace non-productive palm oil trees that were 25-30 years old.

"Many palm oil trees in our country are aged, thereby resulting in decreased productivity," Widodo said.

The government has launched the rejuvenation program for palm oil trees in North Sumatra spread over an area of 9,109.29 hectares across 12 districts: Serdang Bedagai, Langkat, South Labuhan Batu, Labuhan Batu, Asahan, Batubara, Simalungun, North Labuhan Batu, North Padan Lawas, Padang Lawas, Deli Serdang, and Central Tapanuli.

Widodo has instructed Coordinating Minister for Economy Darmin Nasution to conduct the rejuvenation program for palm trees to boost the productivity of palm oil.

Besides this, the government will issue land certificates to the people to avoid land disputes.

"We will distribute certificates for land, including production forests. I will urge the agrarian and spatial planning minister to distribute land certificates to avoid ownership disputes," Widodo noted.

At least 350 thousand hectares of the 470 thousand hectares of palm fields in North Sumatra Province need to be rejuvenated.

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