Maintenance & Rehabilitation

Comprehensive support for oil palm growers and sustainable practices.

Extension Services to Farmes/ Smallholders

OPIC is responsible for providing extension services to the smallholders within its current mandate under the Oil Palm Industry Corporation Act 1992. These functions for extension services will be maintained but expanded to address oil palm smallholder grower issues. These functions, will include, but not limited to :

The provision of extension services is necessary in any agriculture commodity including oil palm. It allows for the dissemination of information on various aspects of the oil palm crop and allows for best management practices including technological innovations. A key issue has been low ratio of extension officers to farmers, including the low capacity in terms of skilled extension officers and resources to support extension services.

The Government aims to improve the level of extension services to smallholders by restructuring OPIC and transitioning it into the new Oil Palm Industry Authority, ensuring the necessary capacity and resources to effectively deliver extension services. This includes increasing the number of extension officers, providing the required resources, and building capacity for delivering extension support. Information from research and technological innovation must also be made accessible to smallholder farmers.

1. Promote and encourage productivity in the oil palm industry through the more effective provision of extension services to small holders; and

2. Promote the development of the oil palm industry, and in particular

   1. The implementation of improved husbandry technologies to increase production by small-holders; and

   2. The introduction of techniques for effective control and regulations of oil palm pests and disease by smallholders; and

   3. The development of a representative grower group amongst smallholder growers.

3. Promote the use of improved management techniques for the cultivation, harvesting and quality control techniques by small-holders, and

4. Collect, compile and circulate information, statistics data relating to growers’ crops and land amongst smallholders, and

5. Provide advice and disseminate information and educate smallholders regarding oil palm production methods; and

6. Consult, liaise and collaborate with the state and other agencies and authorities concerned or involved in the palm oil industry as well as growers and organization interested or involved in the oil palm industry; and

7. Generally, to perform such supplementary, incidental, or consequential acts and things as are necessary and convenient for carrying out or giving effect to its functions