Musi Banyuasin, South Sumatra (ANTARA) – Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono has urged plantation-sector cooperatives to own and operate crude palm oil (CPO) mills to strengthen palm oil downstreaming and boost added value for farmers.Speaking at the National Seminar on Cooperative-Based Palm Oil Optimization and Downstreaming here on Tuesday, Juliantono said active cooperatives located around palm plantation areas need to take on a bigger role in strengthening the palm oil industry supply chain.Juliantono said accelerating cooperative-based palm oil downstreaming requires support from various parties, especially state-owned PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara, which has a government mandate to manage palm plantations recovered by the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (Satgas PKH).”Cooperatives are encouraged to set up their own CPO mills so that cooking oil and its derivative products can be met independently by the cooperatives themselves,” he said.Juliantono said cooperative-based downstreaming could strengthen farmers' bargaining position while improving public welfare.The ministry recorded 2,587 cooperatives currently operating in the plantation sector that could serve as the basis for developing the program.According to him, downstreaming requires new strategies and instruments to boost smallholder plantation productivity, one of which is consolidating palm oil farmers into cooperatives.In addition, Juliantono said financing support is one key factor in accelerating cooperatives' entry into the downstream sector, noting that existing plantation cooperatives can access financing from the Cooperative Revolving Fund Management Agency (LPDB Koperasi).One example, he said, is Mandiri Makmur Co-op, which has received LPDB Koperasi financing to build a CPO mill. Construction of the mill is currently 45 percent complete.At the same event, PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara President Director Mohammad Abdul Ghani said his side would prioritize cooperatives around the land it manages as partners in plant maintenance, harvesting, and other plantation activities.”Given the large area we manage, cooperatives are our main partners in supporting palm oil downstreaming as well as food security,” he said.