Malaysia: Ministries to mull oil palm replanting grant hike for smallholders
The Plantation and Commodities Ministry will discuss with the Finance Ministry (MOF) to increase the assistance provided in the oil palm replanting grant to boost productivity among smallholders.
Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said the oil palm replanting rate among smallholders is only 0.2 per cent, far below the 4 per cent annual standard.
During the question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today, he said smallholders also do not implement systematic replanting programmes.
He said the government has allocated RM100 million for the replanting programme this year by providing a 50 per cent grant to smallholders while the remaining 50 per cent via Agrobank loans.
“In this context, for grant applications, I will discuss with the MOF to increase grant assistance and simplify the process so that smallholders can increase production.
“We used to produce more than 20 million tonnes of palm oil, but today our production has declined to 18.6 million tonnes,” he said.
He was replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (BN-Tampin) on whether the government would increase the funding of the oil palm replanting scheme for smallholders in 2025, reverting the scheme to the full grant of 100 per cent as compared to the current 50 per cent grant and 50 per cent loan.
To promote replanting, Johari said the government’s focus extends beyond smallholders.
“Growers who are not included in the category of smallholders are also eligible to receive various incentives such as investment allowances,” he said.
He was replying to a question from Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PN-Rantau Panjang) regarding assistance provided by the government to small and medium plantation companies which bear high costs due to old trees, as well as efforts to increase palm oil productivity and training courses for smallholders.
The government also urged large growers with high-quality seeds to share them with smallholders before exporting.
“We have encouraged many other aspects of good agricultural practices for the estates, including planting standards, quality materials, and quality fertilisers.
“The Malaysian Palm Oil Board will guide this initiative to ensure the estate production is continuously monitored and growing,” he said.
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