PT. Agrinas Palma Nusantara’s Role Must Be Transparent to Achieve Food and Energy Self-Sufficiency for the People
By,Jacob Ereste
Freelance Journalist
PT. Agrinas Palma Nusantara’s three entities are primarily involved in palm oil development, primarily managing approximately 221,000 hectares of confiscated land since March 2025. In July 2025, they received 400,000 hectares of confiscated oil palm plantations, bringing the total to 833,000 hectares.
Still in the agricultural sector, food-related rice and corn milling facilities will be built in six locations to support efforts to increase national food production. Meanwhile, fisheries plans include the development of 20,000 hectares of fish farming ponds on the island of Java.
PT. Agrinas Palma Nusantara originated from PT. Indra Karya (Persero), one of three state-owned construction companies whose focus shifted to the food and green energy sectors. In January 2025, it became PT. Agrinas Palma Nusantara (Persero) is part of the Agrinas holding company, as mentioned above.
The funding and ownership structure are funded by state capital participation (PNM) of IDR 8 trillion, projected from Danantara dividends, not from the Ministry of Finance. The management of PT. Agrinas Palma Nusantara includes: President Director Lieutenant General (Ret.) Agus Sutomo, former Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense; Plantation Director Cucu Sumantri; Human Resources & General Affairs Director Bachtiar Utomo; Finance and Risk Management Director M. Wais Fanshuri; Business and Industrial Development Director Edin Slamet Irianto; Construction Consultant Director Gagah Guntur Aribowo; and Operations Director Ospin Sembiring. The President Commissioner of PT. Agrinas Palma Nusantara is Wisnoe Prasetja Boedi.
In this strategic partnership, PT. Agrinas Palma Nusantara collaborates with the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) in education, research, and development of biorefineries, biomass, fertilizers, intercropping systems, and other areas. Meanwhile, information gathered by the Atlantika Nusantara Institute notes that PT. Agrinas Jaladri Nusantara’s strategic project on Java covers 20,000 hectares. For its oil palm plantations, PT. Agrinas Palma Nusantara has received 221,000 hectares of confiscated land, with 145,000 hectares in need of restoration. The long-term target is to reach 1 million hectares of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. Such a large oil palm plantation requires transparent management to prevent it from becoming a new breeding ground for the increasingly rampant corruption in Indonesia.
This transparency extends from administrative management, employee recruitment, new personnel placement, to the effectiveness of harvest collection, and clear reporting of financial revenues and their allocation. This will prevent new problems in the governance of state assets that are not readily accessible to the public. Leaked information from Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulkifli Hasan, only revealed that PT. Agrinas Palma Nusantara has begun operating fish farms, confiscated palm oil plantations, and food processing. However, regarding the widespread public outcry about adulterated rice, no information has been provided on what preventative measures will be taken to address the situation and prevent further hardship for residents already facing severe economic hardship.
This means the public needs to know what the government is doing—especially PT. Agrinas Palma Nusantara, which has the authority and responsibility for food issues—so they can participate in anticipatory measures or play a greater role in addressing the food mafia’s deceit, which has wreaked havoc on fuel, banking, and the ongoing palm oil and sugar trades.**
Banten, July 14, 2025
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