SABAH LARGEST BENEFICIARY OF OIL PALM REPLANTING FINANCING SCHEME

SANDAKAN, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- Sabah is the largest recipient under the Smallholder Oil Palm Replanting Financing Incentive Scheme (TSPKS) 2.0, receiving RM61 million in matching grants from the RM100 million allocated by the government this year, said Deputy Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin.

He said the oil palm replanting scheme, managed by Agrobank, had to date approved 796 applications from independent smallholders in Sabah.

“The approved applications cover an area of 3,420.04 hectares, involving an allocation of RM61.56 million, including 34 applications in Sandakan spanning 155.76 hectares with an allocation of RM2.8 million.

“Sabah is the largest recipient under the oil palm replanting scheme. Last year, RM41 million was channelled to the state, and this year, the amount has already exceeded RM61 million. This is how the MADANI (Government) works,” he told reporters after officiating a programme with oil palm smallholders here today.

Earlier in his speech, Chan said that as of Oct 15, a total of 30,768 smallholders in Sabah had obtained Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification, involving 191,517.96 hectares of oil palm.

“The implementation of MSPO not only enhances global market acceptance but also benefits smallholders through Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) management, environmental protection and improved product quality,” he said.

In addition, he said under Budget 2026, the government has allocated RM120 million to safeguard and improve the well-being of smallholders in the country’s commodity sectors, including oil palm, rubber, cocoa, pepper and kenaf.

--BERNAMA