MALAYSIA EARMARKS RM130 TO ASSIST SMALLHOLDERS GET MSPO CERTIFICATION

The federal government has agreed to allocate RM130 million as an incentive for oil palm smallholders to assist them obtain Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification for free, the Bernama news agency reported on August 04.  Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, said in view of the mandatory implementation of the MSPO by end-2019, the incentive would ease their financial burden by providing for the certification’s auditing fees. 

The plan is to carry out an audit on 650,000 smallholders in batches and would involve close to two million hectares of oil palm plantation.  Presently, only four percent of about 244,622 ha of plantations, including 7,113 ha owned by smallholders and 22 mills, had voluntarily obtained the certification since it was introduced in January 2015.