The National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria, have said that Nigeria’s oil palm is capable of contributing $20 billion annually to the country’s Gross Domestic Product, along with massive job creation along the value chain.
Vanguard reported that, however, the National President, National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria, Alphonsus Inyang, has lamented that the banks in Nigeria are more interested in funding processing while enough palm fruits are hampering that.
He said, “The local investors are having problems of finding primary production, all the banks in Nigeria are more interested in funding processing whereas we don’t have enough fruits on the trees to feed the Mills because most of the palm trees have grown wild most of them planted since independence and after the civil war.
“In Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand it’s the duty of government to develop new plantations and we’re calling on our governments to sit down with us to develop an enduring roadmap for this tree of life called oil palm. With oil palm we can contribute over 20Billion Dollars to the GDP within a short period.
“Between September and November, myself and my Vice, Hon. Harrison Okpamen, have traveled to Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia twice seeking for investments and collaborations in oil palm and we are glad to tell Nigerians that we are getting some ears, all we need is cooperation of our governments to launch out.
“NPPAN has engaged a consultant who is developing a strategy which will soon be tabled before the Federal and State Governments on how to curb this highly dangerous menace.
“With an investment of N2 million spread over four years per hectare an investor stands to make a minimum profit of over N2 million per year for 30 years from sales of palm oil alone, revenue from Palm kernel Oil, Palm Kernel Cake, palm Kernel shell, Empty Fruit Bunches, Mesocarps Fibres, broom, Sludge, and others.
“Oil palm is the ‘Red Gold’, tell me which other business you do to make such returns. The Biomass from oil palm can be used to generate electricity for the whole country.
“Japan which doesn’t have oil palm is already doing it by buying oil palm biomass from Indonesia to produce cheap energy for its industries and communities.
“CBN should join and work with us to make history, they should support us to take back our place in the production paradigm of oil palm. Oil palm is the ‘red gold’ and CBN should fund oil palm so that they can write their name in gold.”
