Deputy plantation industries and commodities minister Willie Mongin said the state is also ranked as the second largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO), producing on average four million tonnes per year.

“The lack of research and development allocation for pest and disease control of oil palm, peat management, and pollination, are among the factors which have contributed to the low extraction rates in Sarawak,” he said today.

Therefore, he said, the government is spending RM50 million on various research and development projects to enhance the growth of the palm oil industry in Sarawak, including greenhouse gas emissions and crop-livestock-oil palm integration projects.

Mongin added, however, that the plantation sector and smallholders in Sarawak are still heavily dependent on foreign workers instead of machinery to harvest the fruits efficiently.

He said mechanical harvesting of oil palm fresh fruit bunches is also important to overcome labour shortage, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“By introducing new machinery and technology, we can encourage local youths to get involved in the sector, which used to be viewed as 3D jobs, which are dangerous, dirty and difficult,” he added.

There are a total of 40,513 oil palm smallholders in Sarawak, covering 234,812ha, with 59.2% of them being Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certified.