Since 1970, Industrial Plantation Forests (HTI) have been a source of governmental revenue. With plant commodities such as Sengon, Kaliandra, Acacia, Mangrove, Gamal, Bamboo, and others, HTI, like oil palm and sugarcane, can become renewable energy (bioenergy) raw material. Industrial Plantation Forests serve two purposes: to support the forest products business and to conserve the environment through forest conservation.
In recent years, Indonesian industrial forest plantations have grown at a remarkable pace. The increase in HTI productivity is closely related to intensive cultivation where maintenance activities are crucial for optimizing the productivity of Industrial Plantation Forests. HTI is also highly vulnerable to pests, diseases, and weeds due to the monoculture of industrial forest plantations.
Weeds have a high ability to compete for space to grow, water and nutrients absorption, and sunlight. Chemical control is commonly used to control weeds in industrial forest plantations (with herbicides). Herbicides must be applied in three to four spraying rotations in industrial forest plantings in a single year.
As a result, Pandawa Agri Indonesia is striving to promote sustainable agriculture utilizing pesticide (herbicide) reductants so that the function of industrial plantation forests can help improve habitat quality, species variety, soil quality, and water conservation to work optimally. So far, Pandawa Agri Indonesia has collaborated with several leading industrial forest plantation companies in Indonesia that have a focus on reducing the use of herbicides and pesticides. We hope Pandawa Agri Indonesia will be integral part to safeguard millions hectare of concession from excessive use of pesticides.