It is with great sadness that we have learned of the demise of Mr. Soedjai Kartasasmita from Indonesia who chaired the very successful ISSCT XIX in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1986. He was a member of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists (ISSCT) for many years and was made Honorary Life Member in 1986.
Mr. Kartasasmita was born on 26 November 1926 and passed away on 1 February 2026, almost a centenary and concurrent with the life of ISSCT. He has an impressive track record spanning on some 60 years across many agro-industries including sugarcane.
Soedjai Kartasasmita completed his education both in Indonesia and abroad, including the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD. He also undertook several programs in Fontainebleau, Tokyo, Kyoto, Seoul, Palo Alto, Singapore, Avignon, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. In addition, he was involved in professional studies in sugar, oil palm, soybean, cocoa, rubber, coconut, and tea in countries across Asia, West Africa, and Latin America.
Mr. Kartasasmita began his professional career as an executive at the Mira-Mare Plantation in West Java from 1950 to 1955. He later served as Head of the Marjandi and Sidamanik tea plantations in North Sumatra from 1955 to 1964.
He was President Director of the State Plantation Company P.P. Dwikora II (1964–1968), and subsequently of State Plantation Companies PNP and PTP VI (1968–1979). From 1979 to 1983, he assisted the Minister of Agriculture in overseeing the management of 29 State Plantation Companies, serving as President Commissioner of these. He was appointed Executive Secretary of the Indonesian Sugar Council (1982-1988), reporting directly to the Minister of Agriculture and the President of the Republic of Indonesia. This saw him lead the rehabilitation of 42 sugar mills in Java and the construction of 9 new sugar mills across Indonesia, thus significantly strengthening Indonesia’s sugar industry.
Mr Kartasasmita was also a pioneer in the development of nucleus–plasma (PIR) oil palm plantations across Indonesia and he initiated major development in cocoa, hybrid coconut, and palm oil industries.
He was actively involved in national and international organizations, and served as Chairman of the Sumatra Plantation Companies Cooperation Board (BKS-PPS); Chairman of the Indonesian Plantation Companies Association (GPPI); Chairman of the Education and Research Division of the Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO); and Chairman of the Forestry and Plantation Division of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN).
A strong advocate of education, he was a founder of the Plantation Education Institute in Yogyakarta and Medan, and remained actively involved as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Agriculture, College of Plantation Studies (Instiper) in Yogyakarta.
In 2016, he founded the Indonesian Plantation Museum (in Medan, and he initiated the establishment of the Agriculture Museum in Bogor, inaugurated in March 2019.
His contributions were highly recognized. In 1994, he received an honour from the Government of France in recognition of his cooperation in oil palm research with IRHO (Institut de Recherche pour les Huiles et Oléagineux), now CIRAD.
He was also recipient of several achievement awards from the Plantation Education Institute (LPP), the Institute of Agriculture, College of Plantation Studies (Instiper), and the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta. In 2017, he was awarded the Indonesian Palm Oil Award by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, followed by recognition from the Indonesian Tea Council as a Pioneer of Indonesian Plantations, and also an award from the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC).
On behalf of the entire ISSCT membership, the Society extends its deepest condolences to the family and relatives of Mr. Soedjai Kartasasmita.
Jean Claude Autrey
General Secretary