MPOB Launches e-CoPN System to Strengthen Quality Palm Oil Supply Assurance

KOTA KINABALU, SABAH, 26 SEPTEMBER 2026 —

MPOB Launches Digital e-CoPN System to Strengthen Palm Oil Seed Supply for Smallholders, as Malaysia Pushes Sustainability Amid Global Market Pressures

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 24 (Reuters) — Malaysia’s palm oil industry took a major digital leap today as the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) launched the e-CoPN system, a digital platform designed to verify and guarantee the supply of high-quality palm oil seedlings to smallholders, ensuring compliance with global sustainability standards.

The move comes as Malaysia faces intensifying international scrutiny over palm oil’s environmental and social footprint, with traceability, sustainability, and transparency becoming critical for maintaining market access. The launch, overseen by Agriculture and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini Ahmad during the 2026 National Smallholder Palm Oil Planters’ Conference (PKPKS) in Sabah, marks a step in MPOB’s strategy to future-proof Malaysia’s palm oil sector amid tightening global regulations.

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The e-CoPN (electronic Code of Practice for Nursery Sites for Palm Oil) system assigns digital verification codes to certified nursery sites, allowing smallholders to trace the origin of their seedlings and ensuring they meet Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standards. With 253,000 smallholders accounting for nearly 83.2% of Malaysia’s total oil palm planted area, the initiative directly addresses a long-standing challenge: seedling quality and authenticity, which directly impacts yield and sustainability compliance.

Noraini emphasized that the system was part of a broader government push to digitize and strengthen the palm oil supply chain, particularly for smallholders who often lack access to certified, high-quality planting material. “We start from the foundation—ensuring quality seedlings and proper farm practices,” she said. “Only with a strong base can we build a more productive, resilient, and sustainable industry.”

The launch aligns with Malaysia’s broader Sustainable Commodities Traceability System (SKKM), which leverages digital tools like the Sawit Intelligent Management System (SIMS) and GeoSAWIT™ to provide blockchain-backed traceability for palm oil producers. These systems allow smallholders to prove the origin, sustainability, and ethical sourcing of their produce to international buyers, a growing demand in Europe and Asia where palm oil imports face deforestation-linked bans and boycotts.

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To further bolster smallholders’ compliance with global sustainability demands, the government has nearly universalized the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification among independent smallholders. As of September 2026, 194,000 smallholders—covering 723,000 hectares (83.2% of their total planted area)—have obtained MSPO certification through 162 Sustainable Palm Oil Clusters (SPOCs).

Sabah, a key palm oil-producing state, leads in certification adoption, with 30,384 smallholders (97.17% of the state’s independent smallholder sector) certified under MSPO, spanning 188,000 hectares. Noraini highlighted these figures as proof that smallholders can meet global standards when given proper support, guidance, and infrastructure.

“The numbers are not just statistics—they show that our smallholders are capable of meeting global market demands when given the right tools,” she said. To reinforce this, the 2026 Budget allocated RM63.5 million to strengthen smallholder market access, promote sustainable certification, and counter global anti-palm oil campaigns.

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Beyond seedling verification, MPOB today also released a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Pollinating Weevil Census, Fruit Set Counting, and Hatch-and-Carry Techniques, a science-based guide aimed at improving palm oil pollination efficiency—a critical factor in fruit formation and yield. The SOP is part of MPOB’s efforts to enhance productivity through precision agriculture, particularly in smallholder plots where manual labor and traditional methods often limit output.

In a separate development, MPOB and Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on climate-resilient research, focusing on water management, biodiversity conservation, and carbon emissions reduction in oil palm plantations. FELDA’s schemes will serve as research hubs, generating data to inform policy, technology development, and sustainable farming practices. The initiative is expected to benefit 110,000 FELDA settlers and smallholders, particularly in water efficiency, carbon management, and climate adaptation.

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MPOB’s Chief Executive Officer Datuk Badrul Hisham Mohd underscored that technology’s success hinges on adoption at the farm level, not just development. “True success is not measured by how many technologies we create, but by how many reach the plantations, are adopted, and improve yields and incomes for smallholders,” he said.

To ensure this, MPOB is implementing PALMS 2030, a five-pillar strategy focusing on productivity, automation, low-carbon practices, marketability, and sustainability, driven by three core agendas: institutional reform, industry leadership, and economic generation. The framework aims to translate digital and research advancements into tangible benefits for smallholders, particularly through extension services like the TUNAS (Tunjuk Ajar dan Nasihat Sawit) program.

Badrul Hisham described TUNAS officers as the “eyes, ears, and hands” of MPOB, tasked with identifying challenges, amplifying smallholder voices, and delivering solutions on the ground. “Reform must start in the fields, be felt in the fields, and return benefits to the planters,” he said.

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The PKPKS 2026, themed “Sustainability. Traceability. Transparency,” brought together over 500 smallholders from across Malaysia for two days of knowledge-sharing, technology demonstrations, and policy discussions. The conference featured 13 industry and MPOB researchers presenting on productivity, technology, sustainability, traceability, and smallholder empowerment.

In addition to the e-CoPN launch, the event saw the unveiling of the official PKPKS logo and the awarding of the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry Awards 2025/2026, recognizing excellence among independent smallholders, organized smallholders, and Sustainable Palm Oil Cooperatives (KPSM). The awards highlight the sector’s progress in performance improvement, efficient farm management, and value creation through knowledge-driven, disciplined, and sustainable practices.

As global palm oil demand remains —despite supply chain disruptions and sustainability pressures—the e-CoPN system and related initiatives position Malaysia to maintain its status as the world’s second-largest palm oil producer while navigating ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) compliance and trade barriers. The next critical step, officials said, will be scaling digital adoption among smallholders, ensuring no producer is left behind in the transition to traceable, sustainable, and high-yielding palm oil production.

Related: Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) · Agriculture and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini Ahmad