Ministry mulls easing loan process for oil palm smallholders in Budget 2025
25/07/2024 (New Straits Times), Kuala Lumpur - The Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (KPK) will consider simplifying the loan process from banks to oil palm smallholders in the upcoming Budget 2025.
Its minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said the government, via Budget 2024, had allocated RM100 million hybrid scheme in the form of a 50 per cent grant and 50 per cent loan to implement the Smallholder Oil Palm Replanting Financing Incentive Scheme (TSPKS 2.0).
He said the ministry recognises the difficulties oil palm smallholders face when applying for bank loans for replanting purposes due to several conditions imposed by the banks.
"Although it is a 50 per cent loan and 50 per cent grant, we observed that it is quite difficult for some smallholders to secure financing because they cannot meet many criteria.
"The ministry is looking into this and will likely propose in the next budget how to simplify the 50 per cent loan (portion) to facilitate smallholders with trees of over 25 years old," he said during a question and answer session in the Senate today.
He was replying to a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Lim Pay Hen regarding incentives for oil palm replanting and responses to the TSPKS 2.0 initiative.