PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) will fully fund auditing fees for smallholders so as to be Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certified by 2019.
“The government shall fully pay auditing fees for smallholders’ so that all 650,000 shall be certified by 2019,” said Plantations Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Mah Siew Keong.
“This is very important because these 650,000 smallholders contribute to about 40 per cent of our country’s palm oil production of almost 20 million tonnes a year,” he told reporters at a briefing here yesterday.
Also present are Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry deputy secretary general Zurinah Pawanteh and MPOB director general Dr Ahmad Kushairi Din.
“I urge all smallholders to immediately make their applications to MPOB for the incentives to be MSPO-certified,” he said.
The MSPO is essentially a reflection of an 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 on a balanced needs of People, Profits and Planet.Mah reiterated getting all oil palm planters in Malaysia MSPO-certified is tough but necessary for the long-term prospects of the industry.
“We are working hard getting the MSPO gain international acceptance as the brand confirms palm oil is being produced on a balanced need of People, Profit and Planet,” he said.
Mah said the government-driven MSPO is key to the Amsterdam Declaration that requires all palm oil shipped into Europe to be certified as sustainably produced, by 2020.
Ultimately, the MSPO is to facilitate better palm oil market access through multilateral or bilateral free trade agreements with buyers, he added.