Planting new ideas

Khor Yu Leng is a political economist and specialist in green supply chains and farm commodities at Segi Enam Advisors Pte Ltd. She says there is a possibility that the palm oil economy will not be adequate to support the densities of rural populations everywhere.

THE oil palm sector has been receiving more attention from the authorities lately, particularly during the last two election cycles. This augurs well for smallholders who will benefit from policy changes to upgrade the sector.

There are 2.5 million hectares of oil palm in Peninsular Malaysia, or 20% of the land area. In comparison, rice is grown on only 0.3 million ha and forests cover 5.7 million ha. Nationwide, there is nearly 0.7 million ha of oil palm with organised smallholders and just over 0.8 million ha with independent smallholders, largely in the peninsula.