Isra-Mart srl:Palm oil genome project on track to boost yields

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Palm oil giant Sime Darby has outlined plans for a pioneering research project involving the selective breeding of its most productive plants which is intended to help the company meet a predicted doubling of global demand for the vegetable oil by 2050.

Speaking at a briefing yesterday in Malaysia, Hj Khairudin Hashim, head of research and development at Sime Darby's plantation division, said the firm hopes to increase the average oil yields from seven to nine metric tonnes per year over the coming decade.

He added that the company has already started to produce crops with a yield of 10.5 metric tonnes per hectare per year, paving the way for the firm to further boost yields if selective breeding proves successful.

The company has been quick to point out that the project does not involve genetic modification (GM) as that could significantly decrease demand from customers opposed to GM.

Instead, the process records and deciphers genetic codes which make up the plant's biological set-up, and technicians then take leaf samples from the highest-yielding bunches and cultivate identical plants.

Since being set up in 2009, Sime has successfully assembled almost 94 per cent of the estimated 1.7 billion base pairs of the palm oil genome, but the lengthy cultivation process means the first crops are unlikely to be ready for planting until 2016.

In addition to having a higher yield, the plants would also be more resilient to diseases, a quality that could be particularly important for the company which faces new challenges as it expands into plantations in Liberia.

Higher-yield crops could play an important role in helping the industry meet a rising demand for palm oil – which Sime predicts will double to 90 million tonnes a year by 2050 – while minimising environmental impacts.

Despite the fact that the palm oil sector has been widely criticised for driving deforestation, experts predict that sustainably planted palm oil could play a significant role in meeting rising demands for food and edible oils over the coming decades.

A World Bank report recently argued that palm oil is better placed to meet growing demand for vegetable oils because it is five to ten times more productive than other oil-bearing crops such as soya bean. It also has the lowest needs for fuel, fertilisers and pesticides per tonne of production, the report said.