I had read the articles in the press to say that plantations seem to benefit very little from the recent budget. One could go on talking about it but it is better to think of the wonder crop and how much more the owners and people on the ground can gain through realising the potential of the palm tree.
Research has shown that the palms can produce more than double the current production per year.
Each hectare has about 136 palms and each palm now produces about 12 bunches per month, and the value at current high prices is about RM13 per bunch.
One can calculate the added profit if only 50% more crop is achieved.
With that, the bleak outlook we see today can be turned into a bright future because much of the additional volume can turn a plantation into profits.
But it is not easy to do and many conditions have to change.
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Plantations can get high yields only by planting seeds from established suppliers such as AAR Research, Felda and United Plantations.
Clonal palms created by tissue culture can grow uniformly and give high crops, and can be a boon if they are available.
The rest is care and maintenance, with management staff and supervisors checking the work very closely to see that the seedlings grow with vigour.
The same care is taken to ensure that the palm trees grow evenly in the field. The weaklings are replaced early.
The palms go through their years of production and the volume of crop they produce will depend on the care they get.
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But today the problem is not having enough harvesters.
The loss of crop goes into billions of ringgit a year and it should be a case for collaboration between owners and government to get the workers in very quickly, especially with the impending peak period when the crop should be at its highest.
With the waste of crops, the costs will go up with the same overheads.
An added cost will be the weeding as seedlings which sprout from uncollected loose fruit will compete with the palms for food.
I have lived in an easier time of plantation life when I had the freedom to move with my team to see what we could do for the day and what we should do to avert the problems of tomorrow.
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I had no phone calls when in the field and I attended to all that mattered most.
The owners believed in the continuity of the work and after agreeing on the budget, capital expenditure and appointment of senior people, they would leave me very much alone.
I am reminded of the old Lao Tze saying: “Governing a big country is like frying a small fish.”
It is the same for a plantation. Policies remained the same for long periods.
Too many twists and turns can only harm the palms and can confuse the team.
The major challenge was to get harvesting completely done.
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I had a team who would anticipate the high crop, and we would get ready with equipment and maintenance of roads, all ready for the peak months.
Each worker’s output would be recorded in the notebook, ensuring that we were productive enough to return to each block on time every ten days.
I had relied very much on the team. Scientists could tell me what the palms needed and I would see that the fertiliser would arrive on time.
My team would watch the application in the field very closely.
Although it could be a boring job, I had to stand there chatting with my supervisors and seeing that nothing would escape my eye.
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I would return the following days to check on the work where I had not been present to ensure that all of the palms received their fair share of food.
A bigger problem has always been a shortage of water for the rain did not fall evenly.
There were weeks when it was dry and the water deficit would cause the palms to abort their flowers, and fewer bunches would appear in the later months.
Now soil conservation and blocking the drains to retain water become more important.
Some companies strive to do irrigation pumping from their rivers and streams.
Working as a planter was enjoyable for me.
Although one was managing a plantation of palms the actual activity was working with people.
I worked with the best people I could get.
I would remove the ones I did not want and might help them to get another job to suit their interest.
A competent, well-trained and cohesive team could help you get the crop that you aimed for.
A cadetship programme was also useful for having a succession plan or for filling in when someone resigned.
Universities provided graduates whose communication skills and work ethics were in line with what we wanted.
I also relied on colleagues who were specialists, such as agronomists or engineers, as I did not know enough about their field.
I would also approach senior planters to help me solve the problems.
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Among planters, all you needed to do was ask as collaboration has been there for a long time.
Today collaboration outside the industry is even more vital than before.
Many people in authority, including politicians and officials, do not know much about plantations other than that the owners seem to get high prices for palm oil from time to time and they can be bigger sources of funds.
But those good years are exactly what the owners need to build reserves for the years when world prices are low.
Secondly, the owners also need the funds to do replanting and with the reserves they have no reason to be asking for help.
A good way to foster this understanding is for the owners to invite officials and politicians to the estates for two or three days to see how the business works and to get first-hand knowledge about the challenges. This can be done well before the next budget.
The writer has extensive experience in the management of oil palm plantations.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
