Jakarta. State-owned fertilizer company Pupuk Indonesia is teaming up with the Indonesian Army and plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara I (PTPN I) to optimize land for an agroforestry program in West Java and East Java.

This agroforestry project spans 1,000 hectares.

Pupuk Indonesia's president director Rahmad Pribadi and the army's chief of staff Maruli Simanjuntak inked a cooperation agreement on an environment, social, and governance (ESG) program not long ago to support the army's efforts on food security activities. Earlier this week, Pupuk Indonesia's director of portfolio and business development Jamsaton Nababan, territorial assistant Joko Hadi Susilo, and PTPN I's president director Teddy Yunirman Danas signed an agreement in Jakarta.

Pupuk Indonesia's boss Rahmad said that the partnership reflected the company's efforts to always pay attention to the planet and sustainable development goals (SDGs) in its business operations.

"Pupuk Indonesia together with stakeholders optimizes unused land, both land owned by the Indonesian Army and PT Perkebunan Nusantara I to mitigate climate change," Rahmad was quoted as saying in a recent press statement.

The program is also part of Pupuk Indonesia's strategy to decarbonize so it can help Indonesia achieve net zero emissions by 2060.

According to the press release, the lands used in the agroforestry project will spread across West Java and East Java. It will encompass Bandung, Purwakarta, Cianjur, and Sukabumi regencies in West Java. Pupuk Indonesia will also work on a similar project in East Java's Malang.

The project will see the planting of many fruit trees, and this aligns with the government's goal of making Indonesia self-sufficient in food production. This agroforestry program is currently a key focus at Pupuk Indonesia as it aims to 

In Purwakarta, Pupuk Indonesia alongside the army and PTPN I planted 56,220 tree seedlings of various types on a 200-hectare land, Rahmad said. Pupuk Indonesia also involves the local community in this tree-planting program so it can provide economic benefits to the locals.

Maruli said that the program had started on a 10-hectare land and eventually expanded to 200 hectares and most recently, 1,000 hectares. He hopes that other regions will replicate this program.

"I'm sure that we can soon see the positive changes that this agroforestry tree-planting program brings. It will show how it can improve the community's standard of living," Maruli said.