Creative, innovative use of technology will help palm oil industry stay competitive — CPOPC
30/03/2022 (The Edge Markets), Kuala Lumpur - KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): Creative and innovative ways in utilising technology are crucial to maintain the palm oil industry’s competitive advantage, said Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) executive director Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron.
He said there are various types of technological innovations that had been developed and commercialised, providing solutions to the industry, such as for disease control and pest control, as well as machineries to harvest and transport fresh fruit bunches.
“In keeping with the spirit and aspirations of Malaysia’s National Transformation 2050 (TN50), disruptive technologies will be the driver of innovations across all sectors, including the palm oil sector.
“The vision and transformative pathways of TN50 is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the targets of the Paris Agreement,” he said in his opening remarks at a webinar on “How Technology is Elevating Sustainability in Palm Oil Industry” on Wednesday (March 30).
Hence, Yusof said, industry players need to learn to adapt to these disruptive technologies in the palm oil industry and, at the same time, ensure that sustainability factors are met.
He said technological advancement is able to optimise the usage and time of manpower, logistics and materials during the upstream stage and the traceability route is easily identified within a system, which will improve sustainability.
Commercial technological advancements in the palm oil industry should attract young people, Yusof said.
“The innovation and sustainable palm oil industries offer plenty of job opportunities for many people to help grow the industry in Malaysia,” he said.
He reckoned that young people are heading into a bright future with plenty of learning opportunities in view of current technologies in the agricultural sector.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Palm Oil Board director-general Datuk Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir, who was a panellist, said transformation of the palm oil industry is crucial for it to become sustainable.
This encompasses three key pillars — "People, Planet and Profit" — which intertwine among the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the industry.
On the upstream sector, he said the focus is on yield intensification to maximise efficient use land and the return on investment, while the midstream focus is on oil palm biomass generation whereby on average, about 100 million tonnes of oil palm biomass is generated annually.
The downstream focus, Ahmad Parveez said, is the sustainable approach to the oleochemical process, focusing on downstream processing technologies, specialty chemicals and consumer products.
“A positive transformation of the whole palm oil industry ecosystem will elevate sustainability through lower management cost, higher revenue as well as biodiversity preservation,” he said.