Bernama News
KOTA MARUDU, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- Despite being the largest palm oil producer in the country, Sabah still needs to increase its oil palm fruit production, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said.
He said the average annual production of the commodity in Sabah was 21.15 tonnes per hectare, a far cry from the minimum target of 30 tonnes per hectare.
Dompok said this was mainly due to the smallholders' low productivity level and improper plantation management.
"The smallholders' average annual oil palm fruit production of 14.4 tonnes per hectare is very low and must be increased through technology and a more efficient plantation management."
He said this at the leader-meets-oil palm smallholders programme organised by the Malaysian Oil Palm Board (MPOB) here on Saturday.
He said oil palm smallholders must work closely with nearby factories and estates to improve the management and maintenance aspects of their plantations.
"The involvement of nearby oil palm plantations and factories via a Sustainable Palm Oil Cluster (SPOC) programme will help the smallholders to produce oil palm fruits of high quality. It is an appropriate move to adopt," he said.
Dompok said the government had allocated RM100 million under the Second Stimulus Economic Package to assist the oil palm smallholders in the replanting efforts and to spur economic activities in the agriculture sector.
He said the assistance, amounting to RM6,000 per hectare, would be given to private smallholders in the form of oil palm seeds, planting site, fertilisers and pesticides.
"To help the smallholders whose income were affected during the replanting, the government will also give them a Plantation Maintenance Aid of RM500 monthly for two years," he added.
Meanwhile, the success achieved by several villagers in oil palm plantations here had motivated the others to follow suit.
Rohani Mangabis, 36, from Kampung Narandang, Kudat, said she finally decided to venture into oil palm plantation after seeing the better living conditions enjoyed by the smallholders.
"I see how those who had ventured into oil palm plantations for over 10 years can now afford to buy new cars, renovate their homes and raise their children better and they had inspired me to try and plant oil palm," she said.
Rohani was among the recipients of the oil palm seed voucher presented by the MPOB at the event.
Rohani, a mother of four, said she would plant the oil palm seeds on the family-owned four-hectare land which was formerly planted with rubber trees.
Meanwhile, Malansi Sumbat, 68, an oil palm smallholder, said oil palm was a better source of income as compared to other commodities.
"I used to be a padi farmer. Based on that experience and information from MPOB, I found oil palm is more profitable," he added.
-- BERNAMA
