Sri Lanka’s veg oil imports can be subsidised with oil palm
Sri Lanka annually imports 180,000-220,000 metric tonnes of vegetable oil which can be met with 50,000 hectares (Ha) of oil palm or 271,000 Ha of coconut. Oil palm yields 4 to 5 times more oil per Ha Dr. Suresh Motwani, Programme Head, Vegetable Oils, Solidaridad said.
According to studies conducted by Sri Lankan scientists, per litre of palm oil requires less fertiliser and less water than coconut, dry rubber, or tea, he said, making a presentation at the Sustainable Horizons, a workshop to review the current policy on oil palm cultivation.
“The crop primarily uses rainwater for cultivation, and there is no evidence of palm oil plantations causing groundwater depletion,” he stressed.
Oil palm provides five times as much vegetable oil per hectare compared to alternative crops, such as coconut, and sequesters more carbon per hectare than tea and coconut. Claims that oil palm plantations in Sri Lanka lead to widespread deforestation and damage to ecosystems are not supported by rigorous and open scientific research, Dr. Motwani added.
In Sri Lanka, oil palm does not replace forest but other plantation crops, primarily rubber and coconut.
Therefore, oil palm’s biodiversity performance needs to be compared with these crops and as found in various studies, the differences in biodiversity between oil palm, rubber, tea, and coconut plantations are neither significant nor conclusive, Dr. Motwani pointed out.
Palm oil is the most consumed vegetable oil in the world with a total usage of over 75 million metric tonnes because of its economical and varied applications.
Dr. Motwani also noted that there is no evidence found of soil and water resource degradation in oil palm growing estates in Sri Lanka
Average profits generated per hectare was, Rs. 900,000 for oil palm; Rs. 280,000 for coconut, Rs. 70,000 for rubber, and Rs. 45,000 for tea.
The daily wages per month for workers were found to be: Rs. 30,000-50,000 for oil palm workers, Rs. 25,000 for tea estate workers, and Rs. 18,000 for rubber tappers, Dr. Motwani said in his presentation.
In Sri Lanka, the water footprint of coconut oil is 10,548 cubic metre (m3) of water per tonnes, while for palm oil it is 3,946 m3 water/tonne.
It is proven that this industry has contributed to the economic growth of many countries, as Malaysia and Indonesia, Dr. Motwani further said.
Negative impacts to the environment if any, are management but not crop-related, he said adding that in, Sri Lanka, facts considered to ban oil palm cultivation are not scientific.
“Less interest to implement recommendations favourable to the industry,” he said, noting that policy changes based on unscientific/biased information need to be revisited.
The oil palm industry has the potential to eradicate poverty and strengthen the plantation economy and economy of the country, he stressed further.
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