The Agriculture Office (Disperta) of Bulungan Regency is pushing for the acceleration of legality in people's plantation cultivation businesses by holding socialization of the Plantation Cultivation Registration Certificate (STDB) in Long Bang Village, Peso Hilir District.

The Head of Bulungan Disperta, Kristiyanto, emphasized the importance of STDB as a legal document for running plantation businesses. “With STDB, farmers have legal strength over their land and open wider access to banking financing, government assistance, and technical support,” he said.

However, he stressed that STDB can only be issued for land that is not located in forest areas, does not include protected rice fields, and has no licensing issues. “The community really needs an understanding of the legality of plantation land, especially since most of the Long Bang residents have developed palm oil plantations independently,” Kristiyanto said, as reported by radartarakan on Thursday (July 31, 2025).

He revealed that the residents of Long Bang had previously received around 8,000 palm seedlings from PPKS Medan in two phases (2021–2022). However, until now, the legality of the land—both in the form of letters of statement and certificates—has not been issued. “So far, residents have only farmed based on customary recognition and traditional farming patterns, without official documents,” he added.

Disperta hopes this socialization will be a starting point for equitable access to legality and encourage economic progress in the village community. “The government continues to be present to assist the farming community,” concluded Kristiyanto.