KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is focusing on four priority research areas, namely yield performance, sustainable development, mechanisation and automation, and food safety and nutrition in an effort to improve the oil palm industry’s efficiency and productivity.
Director-general Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said although the productivity of palm oil had increased over the years, the national average yield remained stagnant in comparison to other vegetable oil crops.
“It is high time for us to implement advanced biotechnological, breeding and cloning tools that will enable the development of superior planting materials, which will improve disease resistance, higher oil quality traits, resilient to climate change and, most importantly, increase the yield,” he said in a statement today.
He said the best agronomic practices are needed to further improve efficiency and productivity.
Ahmad Parveez said the Programme Advisory Committee (PAC) will also look in detail at strategic research projects and issues, such as sustainable development and finding practical solutions to reconcile differences between the industry and critics.
“Various issues and concerns have been raised concerning land use change, biodiversity and conservation efforts, deforestation, as well as pollution of water, air and land,” he said.
The livelihoods of smallholders are impacted by increasingly new or stringent regulations and certification of sustainability and good agricultural practices, making them less able to meet the demands of the industry and economically less competitive, he said.
“We should assess a well-balanced approach to fulfil the sustainability requirement for the oil palm industry,” he added.
