RM2.97mil allocated to boost technology use in oil palm plantations

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has allocated RM2.97 million to promote technology use and reduce dependence on labour and operating costs in oil palm plantations.

Deputy Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii said the allocation was expected to benefit 76 smallholder contractors.

To strengthen technological skills, the ministry also conducts training in oil palm mechanisation and automation, covering equipment operation, maintenance and basic entrepreneurship.

"The programme has been conducted in five series, with an allocation of RM1.1 million, benefiting 155 participants from among smallholders and industry players," he said during the Dewan Rakyat oral question-and-answer session today.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Fathul Huzir Ayob (PN-Gerik), who asked how smallholder participation in the oil palm sector could be strengthened through technology to improve productivity and income opportunities.

Huang also answered a supplementary question from Datuk Shamshulkahar Mohd Deli (BN-Jempol) on specific action plans to accelerate the industry's shift from dependence on crude palm oil exports to higher-value downstream products.

He said the ministry, through the National Agricommodity Policy 2021-2030, was committed to transforming the country's oil palm sector from exporting raw materials to producing higher-value downstream products.

He said the strategy was important to protect the domestic industry from fluctuations in crude palm oil prices.

Specific action plans being implemented and to be continued include developing nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products by making use of high-value components of oil palm, he said.

By 2030, the ministry aimed to sustain strong growth in the export value of the country's agricommodity products.

Huang said the ministry was confident that downstream products processed domestically could become major contributors to export value and reduce dependence on crude palm oil.