For the establishment of a commercial sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) plantation, mineral soils and shallow peat are preferred over deep peat. Although sago palms can be cultivated on well-decomposed deep peat, extra costs have to be incurred especially for the higher nutrient requirements. Commercial sago palm plantation on raw or poorly decomposed fibric peat is costly and unlikely to be economically viable. Suitable drainage and soil water-table regulation at around 20 to 50 cm below the soil surface are important to facilitate crop maintenance and infrastructure development, as well as to promote the growth the sago palms.
An efficient transportation system needs to be established to facilitate crop maintenance and transportation of farm inputs and harvested products. This may be accomplished by the construction of road or canal at every 500 to 1000 m intervals, thereby dividing the planting areas into rectangular blocks of about 50 ha each.
To enhance their survival rate, suckers (offshoots) should be nursed. A floating raft nursery system is recommended as it offers the highest sucker survival rate and requires relatively little maintenance. Trimming of leaflets to reduce transpiration is essential especially during transplanting in dry seasons. A palm spacing of 10 m by 10 m in a square pattern may be adopted.
In the field, indigenous fern species are retained to serve as natural soil cover. Weeding along the planting rows is carried out twice a year, with fertilizers applied immediately after weeding. Sucker growths in each palm cluster are regulated stepwise, so that only one sucker is allowed to further its development in a desired interval, normally from 18 to 24 months.
The above mentioned practices were implemented at the NTFP sago palm plantation on deep peat with reasonable success. The infrastructure system has adequately facilitated the continuous operations of the plantations and the sago palms responded rather well to the various agronomic practices.

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