OIL PALM THREATENS FOOD SECURITY

By : ELAINE MAH

WHILE HIGHLY profitable, the oil palm industry in Sabah also brings with it challenges that need to be tackled, according to the Department of Agriculture. Sabah’s agriculture sector remains as a major contributor to the state’s economy. It contributed 22.9 percent to the state’s GDP in 2010 and 32 percent of employment was in the agriculture sector. 41 percent of the state’s export earnings in 2010 came from agriculture.

According to the Assistant Director of the Department of Agriculture, Chong Tan Chun, who presented a paper at the Heart of Borneo (HoB) conference oil palm is the largest source of revenue for the state with RM17.4 billion in 2010. Rubber comes in second with RM523 million, followed by cocoa (RM65.4 million), coconut (RM16.2 million), and fruits, vegetables and other crops (RM24.4 million).

With more than 120 palm oil mills in the state, the oil palm industry is significant not only to the state's economy but also to Malaysia’s economy as a whole. In 2010, export of oil palm from Sabah accounts for 30 percent of the country’s total exports.

The industry is set to grow further. According to the Department of Agriculture, oil palm accounted for 1.414 million hectares of the land under crop cultivation in Sabah in 2010. This figure has increased in 2012, to  1.428 million hectares. This represents about 90 percent of the land under crop cultivation.

The fast growing oil palm industry has presented a number of challenges to the state, according to Chong. These challenges include the imbalances in crop development, where a majority of suitable land for agriculture is used for oil palm cultivation and only very little area is left for food production.

The imbalances in crop production directly affect the state’s food security. While the production of fruits and vegetables are highly satisfactory and have almost achieved the state’s self-sufficiency levels (SSL) targets, the lower production levels of rice remains a concern.

Currently, rice production in the state is only at 30 percent SSL. This is only half the target set by the state at 60 percent SSL.

This is a serious concern for the department, according to Chong.

“We want to have a crop balance, where certain areas are used for food crops and other areas reserved for other crops. We don’t want to put all our eggs into one basket,” he said.

To address this issue the department suggests the enforcement of the 10 percent policy, where 10 percent of current oil palm plantations are converted into rice and other food crop cultivations.

Another challenge that the state faces is the negative effects of effluent from oil palm mills (POME). POME – an organic waste material produced at oil palm mills – is highly polluting in its raw form as it produces carbon emission.

When met at the HoB conference, renowned botanist Anthony Lamb who previously worked with the agriculture department told Insight Sabah that palm oil mills in the state produce up to 30,000 ton of carbon emission per mill each year.

However, Lamb explains that this long-standing issue can now be resolved as there now exist a technology that is able to ensure zero carbon emission while recovering 1.5 percent more good oil.

According to Lamb, the revenue from the extra oil could potentially fully pay for the equipment within a period of two years.

The technology is now available in Sabah, with three mills in the state already implementing it. (Insight Sabah)