Land use that feeds the world: A case for sustainable palm oil

Brazil is a new producer of one of the most important edible oils in the world – palm oil.

As an industry veteran, I can say that palm oil, when done right, is a remarkable crop. If our aim is to use as little land as possible while achieving maximum output in edible oil production, palm oil remains the best solution.

Some may call me a paid spokesperson for the industry — and they wouldn’t be wrong. But precisely because of that perspective, I will let facts speak for themselves. I urge you to Google, to ask ChatGPT, or to check every single point I am about to make regarding responsible land use to feed the world.

I also realise that for some of you, palm oil may not have been on your radar before today. And if it was, you may have encountered the narratives that often accompany it. I use the word “propaganda” intentionally, because for decades we have been told that palm oil is a primary cause of deforestation and species extinction. Yet the facts are clear: most human activity negatively impacts the planet, but contrary to popular belief, palm oil is not one of the major culprits. The oil palm tree requires less land and fewer inputs while producing more oil than all competing crops.

I work for SD Guthrie, one of the world’s largest producers of certified sustainable palm oil, or CSPO. We produce more than two million metric tonnes of CSPO every year and have done so for more than a decade. That amounts to about 12% of global CSPO supply.

Guthrie has a planted hectarage of just over 560,000ha — roughly two and a half times Brazil’s total oil palm hectarage. Brazil, this disparity speaks volumes: when we talk about responsible land use to feed the world, the oil palm tree may well be your real solution.

Let me explain why. According to Oil World, the oil palm is between four and 10 times more productive per hectare than any other edible oil crop. To put this into digestible numbers: About 330 million hectares of land worldwide are planted with crops that produce edible oil. Of this, about 10% – or 30 million hectares – is planted with oil palm. Yet this 10% produces more than a third, or between 33 and 40 per cent, of global edible oils – around 75 to 80 million metric tonnes. Soybean, by comparison, occupies 100 million hectares but produces less than 70 million metric tonnes of oil.

Has the forest been cleared to plant oil palm? Yes, of course. But is most forest clearing caused by oil palm? Not at all. When someone insists otherwise, we must question why they choose to repeat a claim that is so clearly inaccurate.

Whether we like it or not, the global population continues to grow, as does the demand for food. It is projected that the demand for edible oils and protein feedstock will increase by more than 40% in the next two decades. But the one thing that will not increase is land.

So we must ask: how do we feed a growing population without expanding our footprint? How do we make the world’s most productive oil crop even better?

At Guthrie, our answer is science.

In 2009, we achieved a breakthrough by mapping, sequencing and annotating the oil palm genome. This led to GenomeSelect – our high-yield planting material that delivers up to 20% higher yields than previous best materials. It fruits faster and produces more oil. And with climate change already upon us, we are focusing on developing climate-resilient and disease-resistant traits.

In 2020, we made our findings public so other growers could accelerate their own research. In 2023, we commercialised GenomeSelect so more growers could access this new generation of seeds. Every new generation of trees can produce more oil on the same land, eliminating the need for expansion.

Today’s oil palm is so efficient that we could replant land currently used for other oil crops, produce more oil and even return some land to forest.

We know that around 50% of supermarket shelves contain products made with palm oil. It is versatile, accessible and can be produced sustainably by both smallholders and large companies.

So we must ask the uncomfortable question: could palm oil’s efficiency be the real reason behind the well-funded campaigns that targeted it? Was this highly efficient and versatile crop singled out so competing commodities could gain ground?

When we traced some of these campaigns, we often found powerful lobbies supporting other commodities.

Now, one could argue that lobbyists are entitled to fund campaigns and many campaigns support legitimate causes. Yes, deforestation is a legitimate cause and a global issue. But here’s what happened: while palm oil was condemned for decades as the primary cause of deforestation and climate change, other industries – including commodities with larger footprints – continued unchallenged. There was even a time when fossil fuels were portrayed as being better than palm oil.

These campaigns did a disservice to the planet and humanity, because they allowed more significant problems to persist. But today, with climate change becoming catastrophic, even the harshest critics of palm oil now acknowledge that sustainably produced palm oil is a viable solution for the planet and its people.

Oil palm is a tree and as such it absorbs more carbon than shrubs. It is replanted once every 25 years, unlike annual crops. It produces a fruit and its oil is fruit-derived – like coconuts, olives, and avocados – unlike seed oils.

In today’s world, net zero and zero harm are no longer enough. We must go beyond zero.

With our GenomeSelect seeds and two decades of sustainability experience, Guthrie has embraced the need for faster and more meaningful change. This required a mindset shift – from minimising harm to creating positive impacts.

Our commitment includes setting aside 100,000ha for conservation and restoration by 2030 – about a fifth of our planted landbank. We are also working on a Regenerative Agriculture Framework with our partners.

Because oil palm is a perennial crop, it allows biodiversity to coexist, with natural corridors connecting wildlife habitats. To see this firsthand, come and visit our Carey Island plantation in Malaysia, where we have recorded more than 60 species of birds.

Even as we reduce our landbank, we expect to increase our yields. That is our commitment to sustainability, responsible land use and future generations. And all this is possible because the crop we work with is the oil palm tree.

Author: Datuk Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha is SD Guthrie Bhd group managing director and Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) chairman. He delivered a speech at World Climate Summit 2025.

Tags: crop, edible oil, Brazil, Production, palm oil