PALU – On Thursday (June 4), PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk shared insights and practical experience on Indonesia’s palm oil industry with students from the Faculty of Agriculture at Andalas University.
As a key Indonesian commodity, palm oil must be managed sustainably to address future challenges. Bandung Sahari, Director of Agronomy and Sustainability at PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk, served as guest lecturer and emphasized the need to balance economic, social, and environmental considerations in oil palm operations.
The lecture addressed modern, effective, and sustainable approaches to plant pest management.
Bandung noted that Indonesia’s palm oil industry faces complex challenges. While global demand for vegetable oils rises with population growth, the industry must also increase productivity and maintain environmental conservation in line with sustainability principles.
“The key challenge for the palm oil industry is to achieve high productivity while preserving ecosystems and biodiversity. Productivity improvements must align with sustainability principles, technological innovation, and sound environmental management,” Bandung said.
He explained that effective pest management is essential for oil palm productivity. Modern approaches use Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which prioritizes ecosystem balance and technology over sole reliance on pesticides.
Astra Agro uses natural enemies such as predators, parasitoids, and entomopathogens as part of its biological control strategy to maintain ecological balance and minimize environmental impact.
Astra Agro implements an Early Warning System for pest management, enabling rapid and accurate monitoring of pest populations before they become outbreaks that threaten crop productivity.
Bandung added that effective pest management requires a thorough understanding of ecosystem conditions. Astra Agro advances environmentally friendly biological methods by using natural enemies and biological control agents. For example, the predatory insect Sycanus is used to control leaf-eating caterpillars, a major oil palm pest. This biological control has proven effective in reducing infestations and decreasing reliance on chemical pesticides.
The company also uses the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae to control rhinoceros beetles (Oryctes rhinoceros) and encourages barn owl (Tyto alba) populations as natural rat predators in plantation areas.
These initiatives support the company’s broader efforts to maintain ecosystem balance and reduce chemical use in the field.
“Our guiding principle is to keep pest populations under control without disrupting the ecosystem’s natural balance. This is why biodiversity conservation and biological control agents are central to our pest management strategy,” Bandung explained. education to bridge academic learning with real-world challenges.
“Today’s students are the future leaders of Indonesia’s plantation industry. We hope our company’s experiences and best practices will broaden their perspectives and deepen their understanding of productivity, innovation, and sustainability,” he said.
Dr Ir. Eka Candra Lina, Head of the Plant Protection Study Program at Andalas University’s Faculty of Agriculture, expressed appreciation for Astra Agro’s participation in the Practitioner Teaching Program, which provides students with direct insights from industry practitioners.
According to Eka, Astra Agro’s presentation closely aligns with the program’s focus on environmentally friendly plant pest management, which plays an important role in supporting effective plant protection systems while safeguarding environmental sustainability.
The vision of the Plant Protection Study Program is to become a leading, distinctive program in education, collaborative research, and community engagement that supports the development of sustainable, globally competitive plant protection practices.
Therefore, the topics presented by Astra Agro, such as biological control, biodiversity conservation, and sustainability principles, are highly relevant to our ongoing scientific development,” Eka said.
Eka noted that the program adds significant value for students by allowing them to learn both theoretical concepts and how integrated pest management, sustainability, environmental conservation, and technological innovation are applied in industry.
These practices are essential for supporting national food security and fostering a productive, competitive, and sustainable plantation sector.
“We hope to continue strengthening collaboration between universities and industry, so future professionals develop strong technical skills and understand the importance of sustainability in Indonesia’s agricultural development,” she added.
Through the Practitioner Teaching Program, Andalas University and Astra Agro demonstrated that collaboration between academia and industry plays a strategic role in preparing future generations to drive Indonesia’s palm oil industry toward greater productivity, innovation, and sustainability.
In line with its spirit of ‘Synergy of Earth and Humanity for One Indonesia’, Astra AgIn line with its spirit of ‘Synergy of Earth and Humanity for One Indonesia’, Astra Agro believes that a sustainable palm oil industry depends on both technology and innovation, as well as the quality of future human resources.
Source: Tribun News
