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Fatai Afolabi, a former Executive Secretary, Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria (POFON) and CEO of Foremost Consultancy Services, disclosed that the shortage in oil palm production presents an opportunity for youths in Nigeria as more plantations are established amid scarcity of improved and high-yielding varieties of oil palm seedlings. FEMI IBIROGBA reports.
Stakeholders in the oil palm industry have identified sourcing oil palm seedlings as a big challenge. How can youths play active roles in seedling production?
The only source of the oil palm seeds in Nigeria is the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR). I am positive that it will create an enormous avenue for private sector players and young individuals who are concerned and interested in setting up oil palm businesses.
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Mr Fatai Afolabi, Chief Executive Officer, Foremost Development Services Limited and Consultant/Adviser, Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria (POFON), explains ways to revamp Nigeria’s oil palm industry, how the government interventions should look like and the need for smallholder and commercial models of oil palm cultivation and value chains. FEMI IBIROGBA, Head, Agro-Economy, reports.
Nigeria used to be a top palm oil-producing country, but today it imports large quantity of the commodity into the country. How did we get here?
Much has been said about this by other stakeholders that I don’t like to repeat. But I like to emphasise that over the years, the Nigerian oil palm industry has been a victim of neglect and sabotage, the combined effect of which has depressed and almost crippled the capacity of the country to produce palm oil effectively.