Laws, land needed for industry

OIL Palm Industry Corporation (Opic) general secretary Kepson Pupita says the oil palm industry which generates about average of K2.8 billion (2022) annually in export earnings has a huge task of meeting the Government’s K20 billion target by 2027.
Pupita said this would be possible through policy change and importantly having access to customary land for development of oil palm plantations.
Pupita said this during the validation workshop of the PNG Oil Palm Policy and PNG Oil Palm Industry Authority Bill in Port Moresby on Saturday.
“Agriculture has been a number policy to address the social issues we are having in the country, and oil palm is a leading commodity in the agricultural sector has been tasked to review its legislation,” he said.
“Before the bill, we need to do the policy.
“We have conducted three regional stakeholder consultations with the smallholder and milling companies involved.
“Right now, we have 240,000 planted hectares, to bring that K20 billion by 2027 annually.
“We have to develop 1.1 million hectares.
“The 240,000 hectares is from 1968 to now.
“PNG is already a 100 per cent globally certified crude palm oil producer. Legislation and law or RSPO (roundtable on sustainable palm oil) are already accepted so we have less issue to be worried, our oil has already been certified.
“The next challenge is 1.5 million hectares is a lot, savannah land, we have five to six million hectares.
“There’s massive land but whether we have investors, it is a Government challenge, but the legislation has to go through.
“Government must support this.
“Unemployment is high in the country now and migration into urban centres is very high, this programme of oil palm will bring people back into the rural areas, back to their land.
“In oil palm, the private sector has dominated this industry, we’ve got to take the initiative and drive the reforms.”
Oil Palm Minister Francis Maneke encouraged MPs to support the growth of the industry.