From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
Stakeholders and farmers in the oil palm plantation sector have called on the Federal Government to hand over majority equity shares of the Bank of Agriculture ( BOA) to farmers to ensure sustainable food production and food security.
This is as they equally advocated for the abrogation of the land use act to enable farmers to own their lands to avoid the usual recourse to government for approval of the Certificate of Occupancy ( CoO) with its attendant hitches
This was the major discussions at the Expanded Engagement of the Stakeholders of the Oil Palm Partnership Investment Development Initiative ( Opesidi) and the Corresponding AgricBusiness Alternative Retirement Investment Scheme ( AARIS) held in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital recently.
In his address, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Oil Palm Plantation Advocacy Network( OPPDAN) Mr Idoko Joseph noted that it has become imperative to support sustainable bush burning and general agricultural value chain for safe palm oil production across the oil palm cultivation belt in Nigeria.
The President stated that to realise this objective he has bring together all stakeholders and players for the attainment of the goals of Economic Recovery and growth plan and the Corresponding agricultural promotion policy that emphasis on the diversification of the Nigeria economy to agriculture.
According to him ,the oil palm industry is dominated by the small holder oil palm farmers , said the percentage of the holders is substantial but were local grooves inherited from their ancestors or forefathers calls for concern.
He added that the wild inherited specie of Dura and Fisipera have low yield of fresh fruit bunches of 2 to 2.5 tons per hectare per annum , recommended for the use of hybrid Nifor Tenera which can produce as much as 14 to 15 tons per hectare per annum under best practices.
He explained that in view of the next level agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Yahaya Bello, Federal Ministry of Agriculture; the green alternative of the real sector of the CBN, with key interest of partnering with the economy to achieve food security, the Opesidi models need to seize this opportunity to leveraging on government policies to achieve set goals.
He disclosed that his 10, 000 hectares of oil palm estate at Amaka in Igala Mela LGA under the Opesidi initiative is capable of taking over 60, 000 unemployed youths off the poverty lines by creating gainful employment for them.
He said his initiative is capable of of producing oil palm fruit bunches in average of about three hundred million metric tons per annum when milled produces special palm oil averaging one hundred thousands metric tons per annum at prevailing market price of #525 per liter which will translate to fifty two billions five hundred million naira from the 10,000 hectares making it the expected most single entity creating wealth for the teeming Nigerians.
” Statistics have shown that every house hold of 5 persons consume 96 liters of palm oil per annum with the estimated population of one hundred and seventy five million( 175,000,000) with thirty six thousand (36,000) households times Ninety six litres per annum, ( 96,) will translate to Three Million , Three hundred and Sixty Thousands (3,360,000 000,) liters in the equivalents of 3, 3 60,000. metric tons per year and to meet up the short fall requires additional 750,000 hectares of palm plantation.” He informed
Idoko stressed that his Oil Palm Partnership Investment Development Initiatives is both tree crop expansion modules and agricbusiness investment platform working with NGOs , Government agencies to advance the oil palm production across the oil palm belt using private sector driven mechanism of both direct and indirect cluster small holder farmers.
The President, however lamented at the erstwhile practice of using bulldozers for bush clearing which destroyed texture of soil
