RM14,000 per hectare for replanting. Here is who qualifies and how to apply.

RM14,000 per hectare for replanting. Here is who qualifies and how to apply.

Malaysia's TSPKS 2.0 replanting financing incentive provides RM14,000 per hectare in Peninsular Malaysia and RM18,000 per hectare in Sabah and Sarawak for smallholders replanting oil palm with seedlings from certified nurseries. Half of the amount is a grant and half is financing that the smallholder repays. The conditions are specific, and the application goes more smoothly for growers who prepare early.

What is TSPKS 2.0?

TSPKS 2.0 (Skim Insentif Pembiayaan Tanam Semula Pekebun Kecil Sawit) is funded by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities, with Agrobank disbursing both the grant and the financing. The amount covers land preparation, quality seedlings and upkeep of the plantation until the palms are 36 months old. Under the 2025 terms published by MPOB, the financing half is repaid over 12 years at 2% a year, with instalments starting in the 49th month after the agreement is signed. Seedlings must come from a nursery certified under the MPOB Code of Good Nursery Practice for Oil Palm Nurseries (CoPN), and underplanting is not allowed.

Who is eligible?

Under the 2025 terms, applicants must be Malaysian citizens aged 18 to 69 (applicants aged 70 and above apply jointly with a child, spouse or another eligible person) with no more than 10 hectares of oil palm, and the maximum area approved for the incentive is 6.5 hectares. The palms must be 25 years or older or no longer productive, the applicant needs a valid MPOB licence for selling and transporting fresh fruit bunches, and the land must be legally owned or held, with a slope below 25 degrees, not waterlogged and with access for harvesting. Approved participants must also join MSPO certification through the Sustainable Palm Oil Cluster (SPOC).

Why replanting matters beyond the grant

Yields from old palms level off and then decline, and tall palms are slower and more costly to harvest. Replanting with good planting material restores the yield potential of the block, and the scheme helps carry the cost of the immature years before the new palms come into bearing.

The nutrition window that most growers miss

The first 36 months after replanting, the immature phase that the scheme's upkeep funding covers, are a nutrition-sensitive period. Root establishment, frond development and canopy closure all happen during this window. Soil organic matter, phosphorus availability and pH management in this phase influence how quickly the palms come into production.

Cover crops play a central role. Establishing Mucuna bracteata or Pueraria javanica between the rows soon after land preparation helps cover the soil and suppress weeds, fixes atmospheric nitrogen and adds organic matter. Seed Activator is used at planting to support germination and early establishment. SoilBoost EA applied at transplanting may support root-zone water retention and nutrient uptake during the first dry season.

How to start the application

Collect the application form from an MPOB office, the MPOB website or an Agrobank branch, and submit it at the nearest MPOB office or Agrobank branch with your IC, land documents, MPOB licence and palm age records. Approval depends on meeting the conditions and on the allocation available, and the government allocation for the scheme is set year by year, so confirm the current terms, and whether applications are open, with MPOB or Agrobank before you plan your replanting. Starting early gives you time to line up land preparation, certified seedlings and cover crop seed.

Source: MPOB, Risalah Skim Insentif Pembiayaan TSPKS 2.0 (2025), cdn.mpob.gov.my.