MIRI, 20 September 2022 – The 2022 National Oil Palm Smallholder Conference organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) today provides an opportunity for smallholders to get the latest information on the use of technology and quality agricultural practices to increase oil palm yield.
Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Willie Mongin in his speech when officiating the conference said the bi-annual conference, which also saw the participation of plantation operators and development agencies involved in oil palm cultivation, aimed to increase the dissemination of the latest information and discuss the development and direction of the oil palm smallholder sector.
Themed ‘Sustainable Practices, Assurance of Prosperity’, the conference highlighted the roles of nearly 450,000 smallholders who are involved in cultivating almost 30 per cent of the country’s oil palm plantation area and the Government through the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (KPPK) is committed to ensuring their progress.
According to Willie, the main focus for the development of the agricommodity sector includes efforts to increase productivity and sustainable practices.
“The use of technology in the oil palm plantation sector can have an impact on increasing oil palm yields and strengthening the competitiveness of the oil palm industry.
The implementation of new technologies and techniques including the planting of quality seeds including palm clones produced through the tissue culture process is able to increase the production of palm oil.
The comprehensive use of technology in oil palm plantation activities and compliance with the agronomic practices of oil palm cultivation by smallholders can ensure an increase in oil palm production comparable to the achievements of the plantation sector.
“Worker productivity increased by 38% to 60% with the increased use of machinery for harvesting and unloading palm fruit. The use of the Motorized Palm Fruit Harvesting Machine or CANTAS developed by MPOB has increased harvesting productivity by over 100% to 8.7 tons per day compared to 3.6 tons per day with the use of manual methods,” he explained.
In order to maximize the use of land owned by smallholders and generate additional income, the Government through MPOB provides the Incentive Scheme for the Integration of Crops with Oil Palm (ITa) and the Incentive Scheme for the Integration of Livestock with Oil Palm (ITe) to smallholders.
The value of crop integration assistance is RM3,000 – RM7,000 per hectare based on the type of crop. For the integration of village chickens/meat and egg-laying ducks, the assistance ceiling rate is RM15,000 for each project.
In the context of smallholder development, the Sustainable Oil Palm Growers’ Cooperative (KPSM) was established as a strategic move by the Government to guarantee an increase in members’ income such as the sale of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) in groups and the purchase in bulk. The sale of FFB in groups by KPSM is able to contribute to the increase in the sale price of palm fruits by smallholders which is estimated at RM50 per tonne or around 10-15 per cent compared to sales through palm fruit traders.
Until July 2022, a total of 69 KPSM have been established throughout the country, namely 24 in the Peninsular, 27 in Sabah and 18 in Sarawak. A total of 66 KPSM weighing centres have been fully built throughout the country.
The Government is also committed to helping smallholders obtain Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification for sustainable palm oil production and increased FFB productivity. Assistance is also provided to smallholders in the form of MSPO Certification fees, training related to MSPO and provision of personal protective equipment (PPE).
As of July 2022, the smallholder oil palm plantation area that has obtained the MSPO certificate amounted to 1,368,350 hectares or 84.33 per cent of the total 1,514,753 hectares of smallholder plantation area nationwide.
In conjunction with the conference, MPOB also gave awards to the three best palm oil smallholders and the three best KPSM at Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak levels.
The winner of the Smallholder Award is selected based on compliance with good agricultural practices and their achievements in high palm fruit production, while the winner of the Best Sustainable Palm Grower Cooperative award is selected based on the participation of cooperative members, the amount of accumulated shares and the cooperative’s income based on the business activities carried out.
— Akses Malaysia
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- Akses Malaysiahttps://www.aksesmalaysia.my/author/aksesmalaysia/
- Akses Malaysiahttps://www.aksesmalaysia.my/author/aksesmalaysia/
- Akses Malaysiahttps://www.aksesmalaysia.my/author/aksesmalaysia/
- Akses Malaysiahttps://www.aksesmalaysia.my/author/aksesmalaysia/
