Kuala Lumpur, 14 January 2025 – Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Seri Johari  Abdul Ghani witnessed the exchange of documents between the Malaysian Palm Oil Board  (MPOB), the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Malaysia and British High  Commission in Malaysia, to formally launch the National Initiative for Sustainable and Climate smart Oil Palm Smallholders 2 (NISCOPS 2) programme. 

NISCOPS is a government-to-government initiative that focuses on improving smallholder  farmers’ livelihoods and tackling climate change by adapting to the new climate, protecting forests  and reducing carbon emissions. It supports Malaysia’s commitments under the Paris Agreement,  the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals  (SDGs), by operationalising climate smart agriculture in Sabah, Sarawak, and Peninsular  Malaysia. 

NISCOPS 1 was successfully implemented from 26 November 2019 until 31 December 2023 and marked significant progress towards a unified nationally accepted definition for deforestation-free  oil palm smallholdings, as well as training 15,322 smallholder farmers in climate resilient and  sustainable production in Johor, Perak, Sabah, and Sarawak. 

The NISCOPS 2 Tripartite Letter of Intent (LOI) was signed on 24 September 2024 between the  MPOB, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Malaysia on behalf of the Government  of the Netherlands, and the British High Commission in Malaysia on behalf of the Government of  the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island, to foster better strategic partnerships  between the three countries while advocating for sustainable production and consumption of palm  oil. 

The goals of the programme are to: 

1. Improve productivity, sustainability and livelihood of oil palm smallholders in 15 sites (5 sites in Sabah, 5 sites in Sarawak, and 5 sites in Peninsular Malaysia); 
2. Pilot a deforestation monitoring system in 1 site in Sabah, 1 in Sarawak, and 1 in  Peninsular Malaysia; 
3. Improve the adaptive capacity of smallholders in light of climate change in 15 sites; and
4. Contribute to the revision of the MSPO Standard for smallholders based on the outcomes  of the three above objectives and contribute to a traceability initiative by the Government  of Malaysia to help smallholders meet international market requirements. 

Implementation in the 15 sites will be carried out by Solidaridad Network, Stitching IDH, and  MPOB, in collaboration with the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (KPK), Ministry of Natural  Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES), Forest Research Institute of Malaysia  (FRIM), and Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO). The programme will run until 31 December  2028.