23/11/2011 (Bernama) - Total domestic direct investments for the development of oil palm estates and processing facilities amounted to not less than RM22.64 billion, said Minister of Land Development Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing Tuesday.

Masing said these investments would increase with the development of new areas and the establishment of processing facilities required by the oil palm estates.

Thus, the operating expenditure of RM4.10 million allocated to the Ministry of Land Development for the year 2012, among other things, was meant for the Ministry to supervise and monitor all the oil palm estates and processing facilities as well as the overall development of the plantation industry in Sarawak, he said.

"I wish to stress here that over the four (4) year period (2008 - 2011), the Agencies under the purview and watching brief of my Ministry had been allocated with development funds totalling RM376.09 million," he said in his winding up speech today.

With the funds the agencies had successfully developed 101,366 hectares of land into oil palm estates, benefiting 25,708 participants, he said.

For 2012, RM167.94 million has been allocated for the agencies to develop new areas into oil palm estates, rubber mini-estates and other commercial projects.

Meanwhile he said the government has launched "Skim Tanam Baru Sawit Pekebun Kecil (TBSPK)" in its efforts to expand hectarage cultivated with oil palm in Malaysia, and Sarawak in particular.

"This is in line with the objective to increase the income of smallholders, especially those in the rural areas, to attain an income above the poverty line index of RM850 per month per family," he said.

Masing said the above scheme was also meant to cater for those who could not participate in any organized State or Federal oil palm development projects.