MPOB - SMALL HOLDERS

MPOB-SMALLHOLDERS/BM
MPOB APPROVES RM41.974 MLN FOR REPLANTATION BY SMALLHOLDERS
By Wan Nor Azura Mior Abd Aziz

BANGI, July 7 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has approved
applications for a total of RM41.974 million by smallholders for replantation
exercise involving 6,995ha, MPOB director-general Datuk Dr Mohd Basri Wahid
said.
As at July 2, more than RM1 million had been disbursed involving 186ha, he
told Bernama in an inteview recently.
He said smallholders who had been given the approval to carry out
replantation should start cutting down their oil palm trees aged more than 25
years as soon as possible.
"This will benefit the smallholders in the palm industry," he said.
He said the amount set aside for disbursement to stimulate the country's oil
palm sector this year was RM50.134 million. According to MOPB statistics,
46,061ha oil palm holdings belonging to 24,763 smallholders nationwide can be
replanted.
Under the second stimulus package, the government allocated RM6,000 in aid
per hectare for oil palm replantation. This was in addition to the 2008 Oil Palm
Replantation Incentive Scheme worth RM1,000 per hectare implemented by the
Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry since Dec 1 last year.
Basri also said that the government had allocated RM100 million under the
second stimulus packlage to assist oil palm smallholders until Dec 2010 and
among the objectives was to speed up the replantation exercise under the 2008
scheme.
This would reduce palm oil production and the country's stock, hence
balancing the price of palm oil, he said.
-- BERNAMA
WNA JR