Borneo Post Online (28/01/2018) - KUCHING: Close to 30 per cent of 518,000 hectares of Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO)-certified areas are in Sarawak.

In disclosing this, Assistant Minister of Native Land Development Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn says in terms of number, 15 out of 50 MSPO-certified palm oil mills are also in the state.

In this respect, he hopes that Sarawak would continue to pave the way forward in MSPO certification for this year and beyond.

He is optimistic that in the longer term, the state should be able to meet the mandate of ensuring MSPO certification by all entities by December next year.

“Considering the growing concerns in major importing markets for certified sustainable palm oil, the government in May 2017 had agreed to implement MSPO on mandatory basis beginning December 2019. The targeted timeline is to allow the industry the time to adjust and also to obtain certification.

“In addition, special attention is given to smallholding farmers eyeing for certification by making available (to them) incentives to defray the auditing cost for MSPO certification. To make the sustainable palm oil agenda a success, there needs to be participation from all segments of the oil palm industry, with a target to achieve 100 per cent MSPO certification.

“I must stress that Sarawak’s contribution to MSPO certification has been magnanimous,” he said in his keynote address at the ‘Certified Sustainable Forum 2018: The Way Forward – Sarawak’ in a hotel here yesterday.

He also said last year, Sarawak stood as the nation’s second largest oil palm planted area – covering 1.56 million hectares, producing 4.1 million tonnes of crude palm oil (CPO) and involving 34,590 smallholders across the state.

On MSPO certification process, he viewed it as ‘demonstrating Malaysia’s commitment in the production of sustainable Malaysian palm oil’.

In addition, he said certification provides many benefits including enhancing productivity through optimising yields via application of good agricultural practices.

“This translates to higher incomes and enhancement to the welfare of the small-time farmers, who account for close to 40 per cent of the planted areas.”

He said the state government welcomes the initiative by Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) to convene a special ‘CSPO Forum for Sarawak’ – a timely move, considering the challenges faced by the Malaysian palm oil players in major export destinations.

These challenges, according to him, include the call for certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO), and more recently, the decision to phase out palm-based biofuels from European Union (EU)’s energy mix post-2020, based on the premise that oil palm development leads to deforestation.

“The developments in the major export destinations have repercussion on our efforts to promote the development of the palm oil industry and concurrently, to provide the opportunity to raise the income level of our farmers,” said Sagah.

He pointed out that Malaysia has always ensured that the palm oil industry complies with domestic laws and regulations. Currently, more than 60 laws and regulations are put in place, covering from the clearing of land for planting, transportation and production to ensure sustainable development.

The half-day forum yesterday gathered over 300 participants, made up largely of oil palm smallholders and plantation owners.

Four presentations were delivered – each by the MPOCC, the Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (Soppoa), Sirim QAS International Sdn Bhd, and World Wildlife Fund For Nature (WWF)-Malaysia – followed by a session in which the panellists discussed matters relating to issues and challenges in implementing the MSPO certification scheme, the perspective of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in supporting good agriculture practices, as well as the sharing of field auditing experiences.

The ‘CSPO Forum Sarawak’ is a continued effort by MPOCC in holding the event regionally after the successful hosting of the first CSPO Forum in Kuala Lumpur last November – held in conjunction with the MPOB International Palm Oil Congress and Exhibition (PIPOC) 2017.

The event yesterday also hosted MPOCC chairman Datuk M Nagarajan and Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development permanent secretary Datu Ik Pahon Joyik.