Foundation Establishes N2bn Palm Plantation to Curb Importation

Adedayo Akinwale‎ in Abuja

In a move to reduce the importation of palm oil into the country which presently stands at fifty-five (55%) per cent, the Mike Omotosho‎ Foundation has established a N2 billion worth of palm plantation in Kwara State.

The 12,000 hectares palm plantation also houses an agricultural academy meant to train people modern ways of engaging agriculture.

Its founder, Dr. Mike Omotosho gave the hint in Abuja while briefing journalists on the annual lecture of the foundation, with the theme; ‘Increased Agricultural Productivity for Sustainable Economic Growth.’

‎According to him, “with the economic recession, dwindling in prices of oil, it was high time government start to look elsewhere. He added that while government is on the right track in terms of agricultural policies, he believed government has not done enough, hence, the reason while private individuals like himself are now taking interest in agriculture.”

When asked why he was allotting 12,000 hectares of farmland to palm plantation alone, he emphasised that; “the palm tree is one of the agricultural commodity that every part of it is useful for something, is just that the oil appears to be the one with highest economic value and once you start a farm plantation.” “Subsequently,once it begins to produce within three to five years it can continue producing between 25 to 200 years, it is not like a cash crop maize that you plant this year, you harvest‎ next year‎ and is gone. So, if you truly wants something sustainable you have to be looking into the future,” Omotosho said.

The founder also revealed that the foundation would not just be producing the palm and sending away, but it would also have mills of the farmland to process the palm oil, stressing that within the next 5-7 years that the foundation should be able to provide jobs for 15,000 people working on the farm.

Omotosho stated that the foundation aside from organising annual lecture has a 15,000 hectares of farmland, out of which 300 hectares has has been cultivated and presently being used as demonstration farm.

Omotosho said: “We also have an agricultural academy so people can come in and learn about agriculture. We want to use that as a pilot and then we can replicate the demonstration farm with the agricultural academy. So far, over 500 people have being trained and we are hoping we glare going to increase this to about 50,000 next year because it is still at the pilot stage “Right now 55% of oil palm we use in Nigeria is imported. What we are hoping for is N2 billion worth of palm plantation because we have plans to set up Africa largest palm plantation and that is what 12,000 hectares of land is meant for.

‎”If we become Africa largest producer of palm, not only would we have enough to consume, we will begin to export. I see a situation where we will ‎begin to export palm between 5-6 years. Just because we have 15,000 hectares of land ‎does not mean we are not planning to expand beyond that,’ he stressed.