Palm oil’s poor harvest analysed

 By PISAI GUMAR

SMALL oil palm grower’s productivity results were far too low because the total production of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) was governed by rigorous management practices and various production inputs.

Geeman Gaotia Pangarie, an agri-business management field officer, said the full potential of crop production of an average 4ha oil palm block was 80 tonnes to 100 tonnes of FFB, but most farmers could only produce half of this annually.

Total annual FFB crop volume varies from company to company depending on factors of production, all natural causes, soil fertility, sunshine, moisture, workers welfare and labour commitment.

Pangarie said to produce a tonne of FFB was a phenomenon companies lived with as they searched for answers.

He said in Papua New Guinea, land area productivity in the plantation compared by international standards was around 25 tonnes to32 tonnes of FFB per hectare per year.

However, productivity per man day is lower at around 0.9 tonnes to 1.5 tonnes FFB and cultivated land area productivity is also low at 4ha to 6ha per man day per year, defeating a potential achievement of 8ha to 10ha or more. 

“To increase production and productivity in the country, it would require thorough analysis of the core factors that affect low achievements and develop practical policy framework that would minimise recurrence,” Pangarie said. 

The achievements were inconsistent yearly and companies do a lot of analysis and decision-making to improve, but at the end it always boiled down to employee commitment and ownership.

The low yield of FFB per hectare would be 10 tonnes to 12.5 tonnes per year instead of achieving 20 tonnes to 25 tonnes.

Pangarie said this was bad for farmers and the industry because they lost 50-60% or more of the potential income through loss from production.