13/09/2012 (Bernama) - The government has been asked to provide more assistance to smallholders under Budget 2013 in efforts to spur them to produce high quality oil palm fruits.

Malaysia Palm oil Board (MPOB) Chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad said assistance can be extended in the form of replanting incentives, adopting new methods and latest technologies to plant oil palm.

He said smallholders in Peninsular Malaysia are given RM7,500 per hectare under the replanting scheme and RM9,000 for a hectare for smallholders in Sabah and Sarawak.

"We want to see assistance being extended in the form of high-yield oil palm seedlings, using good quality fertilizers and adopting the best method to plant oil palm," he told a media conference Wednesday.