Soppoa supports moratorium on new oil palm planting in state lands

KUCHING: The Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (Soppoa) fully supports the federal and state governments’ stance that there will be a moratorium on new oil palm planting in state lands in Sarawak.

The association said its members are open to providing assistance to smallholders and others in ensuring that their activities will be sustainable as the palm oil industry in Sarawak is moving towards certification under the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standard.

“By being sustainably produced with MSPO, all palm oil produced from Sarawak can be certified which will ensure that our smallholders and others will enjoy better livelihood and prosperity throughout the state,” said a Soppoa spokesperson in a statement yesterday.

Since 2016, the Sarawak government had announced that there would be no new state land for oil palm planting.

Apart from that, Soppoa also urged the government to urgently look into the issue of workers shortage in the industry which is a major handicap in the state.

These were among the topics discussed when Soppoa members met up with Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) Minister Teresa Kok in conjunction with her courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg recently.

On research and development (R&D) activities in Sarawak, Soppoa expressed that more needs to be done to improve yields in the state, where at 3.12 tonnes/ha it is below the national average of 3.42 tonnes/ha.

“With research and better yields, the productivity in Sarawak can increase substantially and towards this end, Soppoa is working in close collaboration with MPI and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) on topics of nutrition, fruit sets, pest control and others.

“The palm oil industry in Sarawak is fully supportive of the federal and state governments’ efforts to ensure that the industry will continue to flourish and bring greater developments to the nation and state,” said the Soppoa spokesperson.