https://opiej.mpob.gov.my Oil Palm Industry Economic Journal Wed, 31 Mar 2021 08:08:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://opiej.mpob.gov.my/factors-influencing-the-certification-process-of-malaysian-sustainable-palm-oil-mspo-during-the-preparation-phase-for-independent-smallholders-in-malaysia/ Wed, 31 Mar 2021 08:08:28 +0000 https://opiej.mpob.gov.my/?p=1548 Read more]]> The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification scheme serves as one of the platforms to address the concerns over issues related to environmental, social and economic impacts of the palm oil industry in Malaysia. Hence, MSPO certification has been mandatory for all palm oil operators, including smallholders, since 1 January 2020. In Malaysia, there are two types of smallholders, namely organised and independent. This study focussed on the independent smallholders. The purpose of the study is to investigate factors influencing the MSPO certification process during the preparation phase (MSPO pre-audit activities) for independent smallholders in Malaysia. The long duration of the MSPO certification process for independent smallholders caused difficulty for them to supply their fresh fruit bunches (FFB) to the palm oil mills. The results show several factors that influenced the certification process during the MSPO pre-audit activities, such as incomplete information and technical errors during application for MSPO certification, illiteracy rate and level of education of the smallholder, accessibility of the holding, and the lack of competent attending officers. The results obtained also show that the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) advisory visit required a long time and was only completed within 37 days (29%), while issuance of the internal audit report took a much shorter time and could be completed within 4 days (3%). Based on this study, there appears to be a need to revise the existing guidelines in order to speed up the MSPO certification process for independent smallholders in Malaysia, and to support our commitment towards sustainability of the palm oil industry.

]]> https://opiej.mpob.gov.my/rspo-pc-the-challenge-of-making-the-principles-and-criteria-operational/ Tue, 28 Aug 2018 08:43:28 +0000 https://opiej.mpob.gov.my/?p=291 Read more]]> The Round-table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principle and Criteria(P&C) took effect in 2007. Since then, 5% of the RSPO oil has been certified as ‘sustainably produced’. Nevertheless, deforestation continues at an alarming rate, leading to intensified criticism of the palm oil industry’s practices. This study assesses members’ capacity to comply with the RSPO P&C beyond the moment of certification. Thirty-six companies operating 4.25 million hectares of oil palm plantations generate USD 3 billion in net profit but only two have set up in-house capacity to implement the RSPO P&C. Limited understanding of the RSPO P&C at conceptual level, rather than lack of commitment, is a key weakness amongst the industry stakeholders. Concurrently, environmental NGO often give technical criticism rather than offer broad operational support to the industry, which reduces the general perception of the RSPO P&C to specific regulations that require reactive measures instead of adopting and integrating it conceptually in a proactive manner at the earliest planning stages of the operations. Finally, ambiguous HCV-evaluation and assessments, and lack of a common standard add to the confusion and often leave industry players in unreasonable and costly management situations.

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