The tissue culture laboratory technology operated by TSH Resources in Sabah’s east coast district has helped in increasing oil palm yield.
Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman said TSH Resources through its laboratory set up 10 years ago had helped to boost oil palm yield not only for the state but also for the country.
“We have over 4.85 million hectares of oil palm planted in Malaysia, with nearly 30% in Sabah alone,” Musa said, adding that biotechnology was the right way to improve yield with limited space.
“Imagine how far we can go by deploying more tissue culture technology. The potential is enormous,” Musa added.
Up until now, many oil palm players had spoken of biotechnology in the Sabah palm oil sector but only a few had invested their resources in this untapped field, he said.
“TSH should be commended for its foresight in addressing land scarcity challenges while improving planting material for better productivity and yield,” he said.
Musa said this yesterday after visiting the Wakuba Laboratory here operated by TSH Biotech Sdn Bhd (TSH Biotech), a subsidiary of TSH Resources Berhad (TSH) whose chairman Datuk Kelvin Tan was also present.
The Chief Minister was also briefed on the Wakuba tissue culture laboratory that was on track to produce 500,000 ramets (cloned seedlings) this year and would gradually increase to 1.5 million ramets by 2015.
The Wakuba ramet is the result of extensive research and development, with researchers collecting data as early as 2001 when TSH Resources first set up its small laboratory.
Today, the 21,336 sq m laboratory has employed over 250 staff and technical experts from the local community.
Presently, all the biotechnology labs producing high quality palm oil using tissue culture technology are operating in peninsular Malaysia. However, there are no sizeable commercial labs in Sabah.
