Embas, planting an oil palm tree, to mark the launch of MPOB Complex at KKIP.
KOTA KINABALU: The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) has allocated RM294 million for smallholders in Sabah and Sarawak for 2014 to replant and plant new oil palms involving 35,000 hectares of land under the government’s National Key Economic Area (NKEA).
Its minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said 5,000 hectares would be in Sabah while another 30,000 hectares would be in Sarawak.
“The government will continue its effort to encourage more smallholders to replant and plant new oil palms. Under this programme, MPIC will provide assistance of RM9, 000 per hectare to cover costs, seedlings, clearing, and also for fertilizers.
“We are also looking at the other challenges in the oil palm industry, such as issues in fertilizers, mills and also the dependence on foreign workers,” he said to reporters after launching the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Complex at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP), yesterday.
With the setting up of the complex, Embas said the ministry was hoping it would help the industry move towards good agriculture practice.
Realizing the importance of competitive human capital in order to carry the national transformation programme, Embas said the ministry had also set up Institute of Malaysian Plantation and Commodities (IMPAC) in 2010.
The institute is responsible for implementing courses under the ministry.
During the event, a total of 230 IMPAC graduates from Sabah received their diplomas and certificates after successfully graduating from various programmes under IMPAC.
“MPOB has built Pusat Latihan Industri Sawit (PLASMA) Lahad Datu at a cost of RM5 million, and a hostel costing RM9 million. Another PLASMA has been set up in Keratong Pahang, with a total cost of RM35,030,351.
“Since 2000, MPOB has trained 15,000, while about 105 companies have benefited from the programmes organized by MPOB,” he added.
Earlier in his speech, Embas said the industry had contributed RM73.3 billion to Malaysia’s export earnings from the 5.08 million hectares of oil palm plantations.
Sabah, he said, had the largest plantation in Malaysia with 1.46 million hectares, where 12.8 per cent of the total plantations were being cultivated by smallholders.
The newly launched MPOB Complex, costing RM4.6 million, would be an information centre for industry players seeking more information or the latest developments in the industry, he said/
Also present at the event yesterday were MPOB chairman Datuk Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad, Minister of Community Development and Consumer Affairs Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid, Deputy Minister of MPIC Datuk Noriah Kasnon, Assistant Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Bolkiah Ismail and director general of MPOB Datuk Choo Yuen May.