69 oil palm cooperatives set up as of February

KUDAT: A total of 69 Sustainable Oil Palm Growers Cooperatives (KPSM) have been set up nationwide as of February, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng.

“Of this, 24 KPSM (smallholders) are in the peninsula, 27 in Sabah and 18 in Sarawak.

“So far, 61 KPSM smallholders have implemented the sale of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) directly to the factories with a total of 314,834.15 tonnes,” the Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister said while opening Sikuati Bhd’s KPSM weighbridge centre near here yesterday.

KPSM Sikuati, which was established on Sept 8 last year, gives direct benefits to its 41 registered smallholder members.

Wee said the government had also introduced an interest-free soft loan scheme for selected KPSM smallholders, with an allocation of RM200,000 for each KPSM to increase its capacity, especially for cash payments of FFB supplied by smallholders.

A total of 16 KPSM have enjoyed the facility, reported Bernama.

“The machinery purchase scheme for KPSM is also provided in the form of a matching grant with a total allocation of RM20mil to help each KPSM purchase its own machinery for smooth operations,” he said.KPSM was established in 2010 under the Malaysian Cooperatives Commission Act.

Since then, various assistance and support have been channelled to increase cooperative activities and contribute to the development of oil palm smallholders.