KUALA LUMPUR – Creative and innovative ways in utilising technology are crucial to maintaining the palm oil industry’s competitive advantage, said Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries executive director Tan Sri Datuk Yusof Basiron.
He said there have been various types of technological innovations that have been developed and commercialised, providing solutions to the industry for disease and pest control, as well as machinery developed to harvest and transport fresh fruit bunches.
“In keeping with the spirit and aspirations of Malaysia’s National Transformation 2050 (TN50), disruptive technologies will be the driver of innovations across all sectors, including the palm oil sector.
“The vision and transformative pathways of TN50 are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the targets of the Paris Agreement,” he said in his opening remarks today at a webinar on “How Technology Is Elevating Sustainability in the Palm Oil Industry.”
Hence, Yusof said, industry players need to learn to adapt to these disruptive technologies in the industry and simultaneously ensure sustainability factors are met.
He said technological advancements would optimise manpower usage, as well as logistics and materials during the upstream stage, allowing easy identification of the traceability route within a system, which will improve sustainability.
Commercial technological advancements in the palm oil industry should attract youth to the industry, Yusof added.
“The innovative and sustainable palm oil industry offers plenty of job opportunities for many people to help grow the industry in Malaysia,” he said.
He reckoned that youth are heading into a bright future with plenty of learning opportunities in view of the current technologies in the agricultural sector.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Palm Oil Board director-general Datuk Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir, who was a panellist, said transformation in the oil palm industry is crucial for it to become sustainable.
This encompasses three key pillars – people, the planet and profit – which are intertwined with the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the industry.
In the upstream sector, he said focus is on yield intensification which will maximise efficient land usage and return on investment, while the midstream focus is on oil palm biomass generation whereby, on average, about 100 million tonnes of oil palm biomass is generated annually.
As for the downstream sector, the DG highlighted the sustainable approach for the oleochemical process whereby it focuses on downstream processing technologies, specialty chemicals and consumer products.
“Positive transformation in the whole palm oil industry ecosystem will elevate sustainability through lower management costs, higher revenue as well as biodiversity preservation,” he said. – Bernama, March 30, 2022
