India’s SEA...
which will help retain the much-required foreign exchange. The letter also dismissed claims that oil palm plantations in Sri Lanka led to widespread deforestation and damage to ecosystems, as such statements are not supported by rigorous and open scientific research.
“We believe if the existing plantations have to be uprooted and the trees destroyed, this will mean an unprecedented waste of capital, which will not be easy to replace,” SEA said in the latter addressed to Premier Wickremesinghe.
The SEA said it is prepared to “encourage and facilitate” collaboration between Sri Lankan and Indian research institutes to develop basic, strategic and applied research on genetic resource management, crop improvement, and production technologies to enhance oil palm productivity. It expressed confidence in the effort of helping to provide scientific support for the growth of oil palm production in the island nation.
“We are willing to share our experiences and assist the Sri Lankan government in designing a palm oil mission with a vision of producing 250,000 MT of palm oil in the country to achieve self-sufficiency in vegetable oils and reduce the outflow of foreign exchange. This will also pave the way for exportoriented value addition of coconut products and bring in more foreign exchange to the country,” the SEA said.
While offering support for the island nation to devise its own sustainability framework, which is inclusive and considers the concerns of the local people, it shared that the palm oil production could be certified locally against the national sustainability standard.
SEA India said it strongly believes that promoting sustainable production and trade in palm oil is a much more effective way than introducing a ban as an instrument of protectionism or a non-trade barrier.
Oil Palm contributes to 15 goals/sub-goals out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS).
SEA asserted that if the Sri Lankan government, industry and NGOS join hands to give palm oil a chance, it can create an enormous socioeconomic impact.