MOSTA: Prospects of IR 4.0 and Enabling Technologies for Oil Palm Industry

Last Tuesday, the Malaysian Oil Scientists’ & Technologists’ Association (MOSTA) held its annual conference where experts and companies share their scientific progress in the oils and fats field. This year, the one-day event focused on oil palm plantations and was split into three IR 4.0-related themes:

1. Precision agriculture: This system was touted as a way for more efficient agricultural practices, allowing for better science-based decision making, e.g. assessing land suitability. At least one panelist mentioned climate change as a reason for data-driven precision agriculture practices.

2. Farming technologies: There is a notable highlight on drones. Sime Darby claimed that its multi-drone operations will be perfected in the next three years for better parallel spraying and opined that smaller plantations may soon have access to drones-as-a-service as the usage increases throughout the industry.

3. Milling technologies: Panelists were emphasising on the importance of digitising milling practices. Some of the opportunities for growth in this regard include incorporating big cloud computing in the Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (CAMS) and adopting real-time mobile platforms for mill supervision and inspections.

Source: Chen Zi Yan/Applied Agricultural Resources (AAR; 2021). Mr Chen Zi Yan of AAR presented his team’s assessment of the potential economic costs involved in three different insecticide spraying processes at an 180 ha oil palm plantation.

An interesting observation during the concluding panel discussion: in stark contrast to the overall placid progress-updating event, several panelists voiced frustration over the fact that many of these advancements are apparently contained within corporations; researchers are still struggling to obtain adequate cooperation from the private sector to come up with new tech that would benefit the industry as a whole. Additionally, it was pointed out that there is a shortage of required experts, such as drone pilots and robotics engineers, which will become an increasingly significant concern as more and more plantations adopt newer technologies.

OFIC 2021 Virtual Conference: Day Two

Day Two of the OFIC 2021 virtual conferenced concluded yesterday, this time involving speakers with technology and consumer expertise. Again, there were several intriguing takeaways throughout the day:

1. Dr Jason Schatz of Descartes Labs Inc explained that although recent sustainability monitoring-based technology advances have been promising—e.g. there are now satellites that can see through clouds and tree canopies, as well as measure carbon footprint—mapping out supply chains in detail still remains a challenge. While there is no specific technology that can help solve the problem, Dr Schatz suspects that existing tools, such as a consumer packaged goods (CPG)-traders coalitions, blockchain, and trackers, could go a long way in addressing it.

2. According to Mr Dario Altera, the Oleochemical Head of Department of the Desmet Ballestra Group, the market is shying away from petrochemicals in favour of oleochemicals, particularly in the personal care, pharmaceutical, food, and feed sectors. Consequently, there is a need to find a balance between oil for food and oil for oleo as the market share of oleochemicals and biofuels continues to grow.

3. Dr Gary Theseira observed that Covid-19 has revealed the world’s vulnerability to climate change and other associated risks (interestingly, he mentioned that the demand for plastics has increased during the pandemic). Greater transparency from companies—in this context, palm oil companies—is increasingly demanded by the public and required for more concrete steps to materialise and address this vulnerability.

4. Ms Luanne Sie, the Head Group Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility of CIMB Group, revealed that investors are increasingly asking banks pertinent questions about deforestation and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). She also gave an interesting update on the regulatory front: the Climate Change and Principle-based Taxonomy, an initiative by Bank Negara which aims to assist financial institutions in determining whether their economic activities will “contribute towards climate change mitigation and adaptation.”

OFIC 2021 Virtual Conference: Day One

The Oil and Fats Congress 2021 (OFIC 2021) is having its annual conference, this time going virtual. The first day yesterday proved highly informative, and many interesting points made throughout:

1. The presentation by Professor Loh Teck Peng of Nanyang Technological University explored whether it was possible to create a fully green, biocompatible synthetic material. Research by Professor Loh’s team has shown that it is entirely possible to create an “aqueous media” using “practical and green chemical process” which generates less waste.

2. During the Sustainability and Climate Change Modules:

   1. Dr Gary Theseira, a senior research officer with the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), recommended that sustainability policies should be approached from a more resource-based perspective. To that end, he emphasised the importance of a comprehensive census of resources to dispel the narrative that the palm oil industry is a land and labour hungry sector frequently associated with indirect land use change (ILUC).

   2. Dr Alain Rival of the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) pointed out that while oil palm plantations have the advantage of high oil yields and wide agronomic plasticity, it has poor climatic resilience; this is due to factors including large-scale monoculture and risky geographic concentration, i.e. 90% of global palm oil is concentrated around the Malacca Straits. It is thus prudent if research were to pay more attention to the climatic resilience of palm oil.

   3. Sime Darby Oils (SDO) Managing Director Mr Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad believes that evolving global opinions on sustainability points to several indications: (1) sustainability sourcing will be mainstream; (2) ultra transparent supply chains; (3) higher climate change urgency; (4) clearer expectations on human rights protection and remedies, including labour rights; (5) a shift from voluntary to regulatory-based compliance; and (6) increasing investor pressure on sustainability sourcing, e.g. BlackRock CEO’s annual letter to CEOs.

   4. Dr Denis Murphy of University of South Wales presented an interesting observation: the Covid-19 pandemic has increased demand in the personal care sector. This provides an opportunity for companies to address environmental concerns associated with palm oil consumption. There is also rising negative attention directed at the palm oil industry in general, this time most likely fuelled by more recent labour allegations against several palm oil companies.