Malaysia looks to increase allocation to replant ageing oil palms

The Malaysian government is seeking to increase the allocation to replant ageing oil palms to MYR280M (US$66.3M)/year for five years to boost replanting among smallholders, New Straits Times (NST) wrote. According to Plantation and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani, the current replanting allocation for independent smallholders is MYR100M/year with a 0.7% replanting rate. “For 2024 and 2025, MYR100M (US$23.6M) was allocated each year for replanting. While this provides opportunities for smallholders to benefit from the programme, the amount remains insufficient,” Johari was quoted as saying in the 21 August report. The increased allocations, averaging MYR280M/year, would be channelled directly to smallholders, he added. In the meantime, to meet the ideal annual replanting target of 4%, Johari said the ministry would continue supporting plantation companies, growers and smallholders in replanting efforts to ensure ageing and unproductive oil palms were removed and replaced ...