Earth Equity News

Palm Oil Defenders Speak Out in Indonesia. By Jerome Rivet, AFP, March 1, 2010. "It is blamed for everything from deforestation to threatening the extinction of the orangutan, but palm oil is a vital source of income for many developing countries, the crop's producers say. In Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, where the plant provides work for three million people, the government is keen to promote the benefits of the crop. Gatot Irianto, research director at Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture, pleaded with producers, scientists and NGOs meeting on the holiday island of Bali in late February to reconsider the plant's reputation... Most experts agree that demand for palm products such as cooking oil, margarine, soaps, cosmetics and resins, will continue to increase and better management is the only way to reduce its environmental impact... Jean-Charles Jacquemard, an engineer at CIRAD, the French Centre for Agricultural Research said palm oil was too profitable for producers in Asia and Africa to abandon, regardless of pressure from the West. 'It is a plant which has many benefits for them. It produces a large amount of oil per hectare, three to six times more than rapeseed or sunflower,' he said. 'Its cultivation uses relatively little fertilizer -- around eight kilogrammes (18 pounds) per tree per year.' In Indonesia, 40% of production comes from small producers who, by farming between 10 and 20 hectares, 'are able to live decently and send their children to university,' he said."