ZAMBOANGA CITY, July 23 Asia Pulse - The palm oil industry, whichcatapulted Malaysia and Indonesia into the global oils trade, may emergeas the "tree of peace and development" for the troubled island ofMindanao.The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), the Southern PhilippinesDevelopment Authority (SPDA) and the Mindanao Palm Oil IndustryDevelopment Coordinating Council Inc. (MPOIDCCI) signed a memorandum ofagreement (MOA) to fast track programs for the development of the palm oilindustry and the private sector's commitment to invest in palm oilproduction.PCA administrator Danilo Coronacion said that the country presently has19,817 hectares of oil palm plantations, producing an average of 54,333metric tons of palm oil as against the average consumption requirement of94,400 metric tons."The increasing palm oil needs, particularly in the fast food business andfish canning industry in SOCSARGEN, have further amplified our need toimport palm oil that depletes our meager dollar reserves," he said.Coronacion stressed that in order for the palm oil industry to establishground in the country to be self-sufficient by 2010, the government mustengage the participation of all stakeholders and appropriate sectors toformulate and forge consensus on a policy and strategy framework on thedevelopment of oil palm industries."By 2010, we should have 35,315 hectares of full bearings palmscomplemented with seven units of oil mills with a 20-30 ton fresh fruitbunch (FFB) per hour capacity," he said.However, Coronacion emphasized that the policy and strategy framework mustinclude conditions that may adversely affect the environment. Suchconditions include that planting oil palm shall not be done in coconutareas; production in areas covered by agrarian reform and ancestraldomains shall be under a contract growership scheme; identification ofmarket niche for palm oil, like for food use to minimize competition andprovision of complementation scheme with the coconut oil; and monitoringand regulation in the use of chemical input.The PCA and SPDA have identified some 447,000 hectares of potential areasin the Mindanao and Visayas region suitable for oil palm planting.Foreign investors from Malaysia, who recently visited Mindanao,categorically affirmed that the region, compared to Indonesia, is an ideallocation for oil palm projects since Malaysia's available lands havebecome limited.At present, Indonesia's peace and order situation and investment taxpolicies are also discouraging further investment in palm oil development.They indicated that Mindanao has a favorable investment climate with clearland tenure arrangements, competitive labor costs, consistent andpredictable investment policies, and sound bureaucratic processes.On the other hand, the Philippine commercial attache to Malaysia GlenPenaranda said the Board of Investments (BOI) has intensified theircampaign to negotiate government to government arrangements for plantingmaterials, technology transfer and financing ventures.The Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) declared that prospective andexisting oil palm growers now ave access to loan packages from rural banksthrough a re-lending scheme.The LBP said these special loan packages have been designed to cater tothe oil palm's gestation period, allowing farmers to enjoy financingbenefits until the oil palm is ready for harvest.

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