Its director-general Datuk Dr Choo Yuen May said the production of Cantas was being ramped up from the current 5,000 units per year to 20,000 units per year by 2020 to meet demands in the upstream sector.
“Efforts are being made to ensure the unit price is reduced from the current RM5,000 per unit to a maximum of RM2,500 in order to encourage its widespread use,” she said before Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas opened a seminar ‘Palm Industry Labour: Issues, Performance and Sustainability’ (PILIPS 2014) here yesterday.
Choo pointed out initiatives had been taken to raise the capability of Cantas so that the machine could be used on oil palm trees of more than 15 feet.
Apart from that, she said priority would also be given to the durability of the pole and the after-sale services to encourage more plantation owners to opt for the better harvesting technology.
“According to an MPOB study on consumer’s satisfaction on the motorised cutter, most of the respondents prefer Cantas than doing the task manually as the machine makes harvesting activities easier, hence allowing the worker to work on a large area with a higher income.”
She said the board constantly monitored the labour situation in oil palm plantations through a system known as e-labour.
The online system required estate managements to report their labour status on a monthly basis, she said, adding the information garnered would enable the board to produce a quarterly report on the labour situation in the industry.
“Based on the information collected, we can assist the government in formulating policies and strategies to address the various issues concerned.”
On the current land-to-labour ratio, Choo said one worker had to look after 10.2 hectares of plantations (10.2:1 ratio) while the highest ratio in Peninsular Malaysia was 12:1 and the lowest was in Sabah at 7.5:1.
She opined the total number of workers in oil palm plantations could be further reduced if estates could increase their land-to-labour ratio.
“Based on current statistics, there is still much room for improvement where the land-to-labour ratio is concerned, and the industry remains highly reliant on manual labour to run its operations.”
On PILIPS, she said this marked the third time the board organised such seminar to provide a platform for palm oil industry players to deliberate and discuss labour issues, performances and sustainability of the industry.
Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/06/10/mpob-tweaking-cantas-to-boost-harvesting-productivity/#ixzz34EFP6tWq
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