Resurrection of oil palm plantations and industries in Nigeria

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Read History Go to My Account Log Out Enhanced by Google BDSunday Resurrection of oil palm plantations and industries in Nigeria Three similar keywords to boost Nigeria’s oil palm plantations, the products or outputs, and utilisation in oil palm industries are

Listen to this article Share Three similar keywords to boost Nigeria’s oil palm plantations, the products or outputs, and utilisation in oil palm industries are Resurrection, Restoration and Revival of the oil palm economy. Today, Nigeria is enjoying the oil boom from mineral resources, but it is good to recall that it was the palm produce, groundnut, benniseeds and Cocoa, etc that sustained our economy before the 1960s and up to the 1970s. Nigeria dominated the world trade in palm produce in the 1960s.

A greater percentage of Nigeria’s Palm Oil exports came from the Eastern Region in the 1960s. Nigeria was the largest producer of palm produce, but as of date, Indonesia and Malaysia are dominating world production. It is good to remember that Malaysia collected improved oil palm seeds from Nigeria.

It seems that Nigerians should have a rethink and go back for massive production of oil palm so that we can enjoy both the oil boom from oil palm and the oil from mineral resources. Nigeria is already blessed by God with fertile land for this production.

Oil palm production could be made giant industry to sustain our Agricultural Economy. It played major role in the past. It can now play more role than those of the past if we really know that all parts of oil palm as a plant are very useful and the products from the plants are used as raw materials in many industries.

The palm fruits can be processed to get palm oil. The palm kernels are processed for Palm Kernels Oil [ PKO]. The palm oil is used for making soap. The margarine industries depend on these produce as major sources of their raw materials. The palm kernel cake left after extracting the PKO is used in production of livestock feeds. The oil palm trees are trapped for palm wine.

The palm leaves are used to feeds animals like sheep, goat, cattle, etc and also can be used to build thatched house, livestock buildings and farm houses. The brooms produced from oil palm trees are used for sweeping.

The central fronds are used as yam stakes and to make supporting frame for building house. The palm bunches left after removing the fruits from them are burnt into palm burnt ash as plant nutrients and as insecticides for prevention and control of pests and diseases of farm crops. The trunk of the oil palm tree can be made into wooden planks for constructing farm structures like animal shades and farm stores.

The fibre from the palm fronds is used for making local basket and fishing net as well as for making ropes. The palm oil is used for making candles. The African black soap is made from palm product, the palm burnt ash soap is very good antiseptic. Abroad just like in Nigeria, the palm oil is put into multiple uses…. In industry and making margarine, soap, candle, cooking fats. The PKO is used for making glycerin and many toilet and other preparations which appear in chemist shop.

Having seen the wide range of uses of oil palm and it produce; the government of Nigeria should help to revive oil palm industries. The massive production of the plant is needed. Moreover, encouragement is needed for modern industries for processing of the oil palm product like Palm Oil and PKO Mills across all the oil palm producing zones. The exportation of the oil palm products should be given more attention it deserves as one of the major foreign exchange earners.

Oil palm is one of the crops that does well in Eastern State of Nigeria. Anyone who has travelled through the Eastern states within the rain forest zone would have seen oil palm in continuous belts. The British official photographs from Archives showing oil palm bush in Eastern Nigeria in the 1960’s testified to this. The oil palm is indigenous to the West Tropics and does best in fertile soils.

Oil palm originated from Tropical Forest of West African Region which included Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, etc. The extraction and use of oil palm can be dated back to 5,000 years ago.

Archaeologists discovered a substance concluded to be oil palm dating back to 30,000 BC. It was believed that the Arab traders brought the oil palm to Egypt. In essence oil palm seeds were exported in large quantity from West Africa to other continents especially Europe and America. The export of palm kernels began in 1832.

The palm industry made up significant sector of Nigeria Economy. The oil palm belts include state of Abia, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Delta, Ekiti, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Rivers etc.

The Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research [NIFOR] was established in 1939 although at that time it did not bear its present name, it was a British Colonial Oil Palm Research Station and was formed to provide support through Research and Development to the entire Oil Palm industry in West Africa.

The Oil Palm Research Station was financed by the Nigeria Oil Palm Produce Marketing Board, a statutory Body set up to control the Oil Palm industry in Nigeria. Beginning in 1950’s and till mid 1960’s, Nigeria remained the largest producer of crude Palm Oil in the World.

Upon gaining independence in 1960, the Research Institute Station’s Act No 33 of 1964, Nigeria renamed it to Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research [NIFOR]. By the same Development, the Institute’s mandate was expanded to include Coconut, Date Palm, Raffia Palm and other Palms of Economic Importance. The writer Livinus Nnebedum was at NIFOR in Benin-City in 1987 when he was doing his NYSC.

Nigerians and indeed Government of Nigeria should always think about this adage. “We shall not put all our eggs in one basket”. When we talk of Oil boom in Nigeria, let us not only focus our attention on mineral oil. We shall also focus attention on the oil palm boom as both of them can boost the economy of Nigeria with adequate attention.

Establishment of Oil Palm Estates just like most Investors establish Housing Estates is one out of many Investments in Agriculture which can boost Nigeria Economy. It can contribute its quota towards moving Nigeria into production-oriented Economy and aware from the present consumption-oriented economy.

.Nnebedum is an Agricultural Extension Communication expert, former director in Anambra State Agricultural Development Programme [ADP] and presently, lecturer in Agric Education at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze, Anambra State.