Govt committed to helping oil palm smallholders obtain MSPO
03/03/2023 (Borneo Post Online), Serian - The government is committed to helping smallholders to obtain the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil Certification (MSPO) for sustainable palm oil production, says Deputy Minister of Food Industry, Commodities and Regional Development, Martin Ben.
Speaking at the MPOB-UKM Endowment Chair community programme with Serian oil palm smallholders recently, Martin said practices under MSPO could also help smallholders increase their production of fresh fruit bunches (FFB).
He added that various assistance had been provided by the government in the form of fees for MPSO, training and also the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE).
“As we all know, palm oil is the biggest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) under the agriculture sector. Even in Sarawak, oil palm is the biggest contributor, contributing 68 percent of the state’s GDP under the agriculture sector in the year 2021.
“We thank the smallholders for their role in this,” he said at the event held at Dewan Ranchan on Thursday.
He was happy to note that according to data revealed by Malaysian Oil Palm Board (MPOB) deputy director general Dr Ramle Moslim, the percentage of smallholders already certified with MPSO was now about 90 per cent.
He said MSPO was among the various efforts by the government to strengthen the image of the Malaysian oil palm industry and counter negative accusations.
He said this was due to the country’s palm industry facing various challenges and accusations, especially those related to sustainability issues that can threaten the palm product market and have affected the image of Malaysian palm oil.
The challenge comes from countries that buy our oil palm, especially those in the European Union, India and China. Therefore, MSPO is important for us to show that we care for and protect the environment,” he added.
He also said the federal government, through the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities and its agencies, have successfully rebutted palm oil issues raised by competitors, such as providing scientific proof that palm oil is better.
“I was with the Malaysian delegation to Jakarta, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof who is also Plantation and Commodities Minister recently, to forge better relations under the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC). Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil, followed by Malaysia at number two,” he added.
About 300 participants, mainly oil palm smallholders, attended the programme organised by MPOB-UKM Endowment Chair, a collaboration between MPOB and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
The programme, apart from promoting MSPO, also aims to assist smallholders to diversify their income through fertigation, planting cash crops and animal breeding as well as to promote the incentives provided by the government.