IT has been 105 years since the first commercial planting of oil palms in Tennamaram Estate in Batang Berjuntai, Selangor.
This first commercial estate planted with oil palm seeds sourced from Rantau Panjang, Selangor in 1917, built the foundations of Malaysia's palm oil industry.
Oil palm, identified as the agricultural crop of the future in the First Malaya Plan launched in 1956-1960 was intended to diversify the Malaysian economy and reduce the nation's age-old dependence on rubber.
Today, the oil palm industry is one of the key drivers of the country's economy, employing more than four million people in its upstream and downstream sectors.
Oil palm is now planted on around 6 million hectares of agricultural land in Malaysia and is a source of income for about half a million oil palm smallholders in the country.
Malaysia, as the second-largest exporter of palm oil, exported 15.56 million tonnes of palm oil in 2021 which represented 30.5 per cent of global palm oil trade and 16.4 per cent of global oils and fats exports. Malaysia exported its palm oil and other palm-based products to more than 150 countries and generated RM108.52 billion in 2021.
Palm oil is recognised by the World Health Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organisation as nutritious for human consumption, a suitable replacement for partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Today, more than three billion people in 150 countries use products containing palm oil.
As the most efficient oilseed crop in the world. Oil palm is five to 10 times more productive than other major oilseed crops; highly efficient with a high output-to-input energy ratio.
The country's oil palm industry has developed remarkably over the last 105 years with many significant milestones achieved.
In 2008, the palm oil industry made a significant breakthrough when the government approved the mandatory blending of palm biodiesel with petroleum diesel for government agencies beginning February 2009 with an extension to the industrial and transport sectors by 2010.
Subsequently, B7 (7.0 per cent palm biodiesel and 93 per cent petroleum diesel) programme was launched in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak from 2011 to 2015.
B10 (10 per cent palm biodiesel and 90 per cent petroleum diesel) was introduced in 2013 and B20 (20 per cent palm biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel) was launched in February 2020.
Recently, MPOB inked a memorandum of understanding with investors from China and Malaysia, aimed at promoting technical exchange on the production of second generation biodiesel and bio jet fuel.
In 2013, Malaysia, on its own initiative, has developed and launched the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standards that track the sustainable operations and traceability of their products.
The MSPO has been made mandatory since January 1, 2020 and to date, a total of 5.42 million hectares or 92.39 per cent of the total 5.87 million hectares oil palm planted area has obtained the MSPO certification. The MSPO standards have been revised this year to reduce ambiguity and increase credibility to get recognition from the international market.
Advanced research by the scientists at MPOB saw industry-driven products and technologies developed and commercialised. To date, MPOB has developed 709 technologies of which 32 per cent or 227 have been commercialised and these included balanced fertiliser formulation, continuous sterilisation of fresh fruit bunches, bioactive compound and santan sawit.
On the other hand, MPOB has filed 383 patents, of which 130 patents have been commercialised.
Another breakthrough was achieved in 2013 when the oil palm genome was successfully decoded. This achievement was published by MPOB in the premier scientific journal, Nature.
Two years later, the genetic mark for the clonal abnormality, known as "mantled" was also discovered by MPOB, which also received prominence on the cover of Nature.
MPOB's biotechnology research has also developed oil palm planting materials, namely the PS1 to PS13 series through its vast collection of mother palms. They possess different traits such as high yield, dwarf, long stalk and richness in Vitamin E tocotrienol.
Scientists at MPOB are continuously working on new technologies, sometimes in collaboration with renowned research institutions worldwide to ensure that the oil palm industry remains dynamic, generates high-income jobs, entrepreneurship opportunities and better export earnings.
MPOB is also working towards ensuring palm oil is a nutritious and affordable food for all while striving towards a zero-waste industry that is sustainable and well-regulated.
With such significant achievements by MPOB and the roles it plays, Malaysia is now a global R&;D centre for oil palm research, particularly in the fields of agronomy, disease management, good agricultural practices, genome, biodiesel, utilisation of palm biomass, food and non-food applications and sustainability standards.
* The writer is the director-general of Malaysian Palm Oil Board