Unwise to freeze expansion of plantations
IT has been reported that the Primary Industries Ministry is not going to allow any more land to be used as oil palm plantations in the country. Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok was quoted as saying on Sept 4 after her keynote address at the Corporate Malaysia Summit that this was to fulfil Malaysia’s commitment to the international community to keep 54.6% of our land as forest reserves.
The message suggests that expanding the oil palm acreage would not augur well for our forest cover. Some may also conclude that it is palm oil that has been responsible for the decimation of our forests. This correlation is simply untrue.
The facts have been presented many times and on many occasions by the custodians of our palm oil industry, namely the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). The truth is, all these years the expansion in oil palm cultivation has never been at the expense of the nation’s forest cover.
I am glad the Sarawak state government has declared that it will object to this move, as should all the other states. I know Sarawak still has vast areas that can be developed as oil palm plantations. And why not? Palm oil can do a lot to help alleviate the pockets of pov- erty in the state.
Furthermore, oil palm has shown many times that it can be a powerful crop to empower the rural economy. Though the price is rather low now, experts believe it is temporary. We have always experienced a cycle in the price and it is expected to be high again.
There is no denying that the world is going to need more edible oils in the coming years and palm oil stands as the most viable to cater to the expanding demand. Why? Because the production of palm oil uses much less land than other oils. That is already positive for sustainability.
Oil palm is also a perennial. It is not much different from a natural forest in terms of providing the sink for greenhouse gases. Perhaps the only difference is that we see fewer tigers.
We know of the demand from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to show that our method of producing palm oil is sustainable. Yes, we need to be wary of sustainability. But it should be according to our own mould of sustainability.
The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme is a good initiative to meet the demand of the RSPO. However, its implementation should not be at the expense of the wellbeing of the people. I would therefore appeal to the ministry concerned to reconsider the move to freeze the expansion of oil palm plantations in this country.