KUALA LUMPUR: The government will be giving out incentives to 650,000 oil palm smallholders in order to push for these planters to gain the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification by 2019.
“We will have some good news for the smallholders next week,” said Plantations Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Mah Siew Keong, while acknowledging smallholders’ concerns over the high cost of MSPO certification.
The MSPO certification is essentially a reflection of a unified code of laws concerning best practices throughout the supply chain, from oil palm planting to palm oil processing.
When one is MSPO-certified, it confirms oil palm cultivation is being carried out based on a balanced between the people, profits and planet.
Mah admitted that to get all oil palm planters in Malaysia MSPO-certified is tough task but necessary for the long-term prospects of the industry.
Ultimately, the MSPO is to facilitate better palm oil market access through multilateral or bilateral free trade agreements with buyers.
Mah was speaking to reporters, after officiating the launch of two commemorative coins, one RM1 and the other RM10, by Bank Negara to celebrate the 100 years of commercial oil palm planting in the country.