Do I need to have a palm oil plantation to critique the deplorable situation of a once thriving industry?

The reason why I brought this subject up, was due to the fact that I was watching a segment on palm oil production in Malaysia and they mentioned Nigeria during this segment.

Malaysia is not making millions of dollars off of this plants, they are making billions!

This leads to a bigger problem. Malaysia and Nigeria in 1960 were at the same level economically, but now they have surpassed us tremendously .

Just look at how sophisticated their oil palm nurseries are.

Ileke-IdI:

Are you intending on bringing governmental focus on palm oil production?

If not. . . .

Once again, I ask you. . . .what are you going to do about lack of modern farming tools?

Why is that my concern concerning the first question? I already know what I want to do concerning oil palm and I do not need government help.

And concerning your second question, what do you think I am going to do about that issue?

Look how organized these plantations in Malaysia look.

They took our plant and made billions. Their people are wealthier than our own, and they did not have to rely on petroleum either.

Ileke-IdI:

If you're going to tell us what you have a problem with, then it's out right to also know how you'll solve it.

And posting you solutions, even if it's not specific, will give you some educative assurance/reprimands from people who are actually connoisseurs on the subject.

Telling us you have land and maybe a cooperative is nothing we havent heard before. It's been done in Nigeria, but still things are not changing. You need more.


Are you afraid of criticism?

Since you wish to drag it out of me, the difference between Malaysia and Indonesia with Nigeria is that the oil palm trade is backed by their respective governments.

Nigeria's federal government does not support local farmers.

We need[b] subsidies subsidies subsidies[/b].

I don't have solution to this stagnation, because Nigeria will only focus on oil. But personally, I see that I can make money off of this plant, which can also help employ people not only in the East, but West Africa.

A Brief History of the Oil Palm Trade

International trade in palm oil began at the turn of the nineteenth century, while that of palm kernels developed only after 1832. Palm oil became the principal cargo for slave ships after abolition of the slave trade. The establishment of trade in palm oil from West Africa was mainly the result of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. As people in Europe began to take sanitation and hygiene seriously, demand for soap increased, resulting in the demand for vegetable oil suitable for soap manufacture and other technical uses. Tinplating required technical oil for which palm oil was found suitable. In the early 1870s exports of palm oil from the Niger Delta were 25 000 to 30 000 tonnes per annum and by 1911 the British West African territories exported 87 000 tonnes.

The export of palm kernels also began in 1832 and by 1911 British West Africa alone exported 157 000 tonnes of which about 75 percent came from Nigeria. Nigeria was the largest exporter until 1934 when the country was surpassed by Malaysia. Africa led the world in production and export of palm oil throughout the first half of the 20th century, led by Nigeria and Zaire. By 1966, however, Malaysia and Indonesia had surpassed Africa’s total palm oil production. According to Oil Palm Review, published by the Tropical Development and Research Institute in the United Kingdom, over 3 million tonnes of palm oil was produced by Malaysia alone in 1983, compared with a total of about 1.3 million tonnes of African production.

Ileke-IdI:

BTW, since the East already has "lots" of palm trees, why do you still think the problem is in the East?

The East does have a lot of oil palm, but it is all controlled by small scale farmers who do not know proper farming techniques compared to the large plantations of Indonesia and Malaysia.

Ileke-IdI:

How will I know what you plan if you have not yet discussed it on this thread?

You're telling me the tools you have, which is land. But you still have not told me specific details on WHAT you will do to solve this "problem" we have. You're not a farmer and based on your education interest, I'll say you have no agricultural knowledge. So explain this to me, how will you know what to do and how will you go about this?

I hope you're not just planning on planting palm trees across the East.

Do I look like Johnny Oil Palm Seed?

Why should I tell all my specifics? We Igbos are not keen on telling our business secrets. Just keep in mind I am thinking about forming a cooperative like they do in Ethiopia amongst small scale coffee farmers.

Even though I lack knowledge in farming, I can always employ those who have been involved in the oil palm trade for generations.

The former Eastern region must regain our former glory in the export of oil palm.

Ileke-IdI:

Sorry.

So how do you propose we change things? Why do you always complain about ish when you yourself have no solution or any direct method of getting involve. Keep in mind, internet complaints and suggestions are indirect methods.

First of all, before we "change "this , we need to analyze the cause of Nigeria's drop in production of palm oil. Any suggestions? And if any, how can we change it?

i.e Has farming land for such production and harvest reduced? Are Nigerians putting more efforts into quick productions which bring larger money like . . . .?

Who said I did not have a plan? I would not have created this thread if I do not have a solution. You should already know I see no use in complaining.

How do you know I am not planning an oil palm plantation? My father is already a large landowner in the East with land in every state East of the river Niger. I even discussed it with him, and he thought it would be very lucrative, but he knows I am not a farmer.

I see nothing wrong with farming.

Ileke-IdI:

^^^ Dude, when are you leaving?

I said in July. Now stop worrying me and comment on this thread.

We can continue to argue, but the fact remains that Malaysia and Indonesia are using a plant that originated from Nigeria to make billions of dollars while we only focus on a non-renewable resource.

Calculia:

We Igbo's have an eye for international business. EzeUche, we keep on talking about this all the time.(Friends) We even mention Kenya and how much revenue dey make from preserving their natural environment via tourism. Yes the original seed used in indonesia to start this industry was from Nigeria but look wat a billion dollar industry it has become and a major source of revenue adding to the GDP of that country.

Nigeria is run by a bunch of idiots.

I feel like weeping at times when I think about it.

The plant that came from our land has enriched another country while we are still relying on oil. It is pathetic I tell you!

kalokalo:

The OP failed to mention that Palm Oil is produced in industrial plantations by multinational and local corporations in Indonesia and Malaysia. How can you compare that to subsistence one man oil-palm farms in Nigeria? How can subsistence farming with primitive methods compete with industrial agriculture? In quality, price and packaging?

Are Nigerian companies willing to go into large scale industrial oil palm production? No but we prefer buying and selling! Anything with quick turnover. We are too impatient to invest in long gestation ventures. Companies like Nestle, Kraft etc have subsidiaries that  produce palm-oil and cocoa in Malaysia.

Left to Nigerians, they prefer the government set up state owned / run farms that will be BOUND TO FAIL. Farming in Malaysia and Indonesia is done by giant companies.

I think I have already mentioned this in one of my post. I did not forget to mention that.

Nigerians have no vision.

I hate how the little subgroups like to claim they are a separate tribes.

I have never believe that there are 250 ethnic groups.

There are probably only 50 or less.

sizzlers:

we ar the largest producer of ground nut fat oil

Actually it is China, then India followed by the United States.

alj_harem:

op

shattap dai

nigeria can not be the largest producer of palm oil because of 2 things

1. it is graduates like u that hate anythig farming, no one what to be a farmer because it is associated with poverty

2. the most lucrative lands from palmoil plantation is been destroyed by crude oil companies and ijaw mend rubbish

1. I do not come from a family of farmers, but I see nothing wrong with the profession. Farmers are needed in every society. I wouldn't mind owning an oil palm plantation or two.

2. The most lucrative land for palm oil plantations has always been Igboland. The Ijaws were just middlemen when it came to the trade, but the Igbo hinterland was once the largest source of oil palm.

In the 1960s an attempt was made to build large-scale plantations for oil palms in Nigeria, but they have all failed.

Nigeria’s agricultural income has withered from almost 100% of GDP to 18%.

A former governor of a palm oil producing state once told journalists he wept when he visited Malaysia and saw how they had benefited from the crop.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I share the governor's sentiment. All I can do is weep.

"I don’t know how many trees we have, but it must be hundreds," Chijioke says.
Unlike neighbouring countries like Ghana and Cameroon, there are very few large scale plantations in Nigeria.
About 80% of Nigeria’s palm oil is produced by smallholders.

Chijioke, 28, has been farming these trees since he was a boy. He selects a tree that he knows will have ripe palm kernels and hacks away at the hard spiky fronds.

hercules07:

Eze

Investors are becoming worried because of kidnapping, Boko Haram, Mend, OPC and MASSOB, investors do not want to put their monies in economies that are run by gangsters.

Sanusi is a cause as well. Of course international investors would be jittery.

And he acts more like a politician instead of his doing job. Just read his Op-Ed concerning Southern groups.

We need to help our farmers.

One cannot live on oil alone!

Palm oil offers lucrative returns

By Gerald Chan
The use of palm fruit to extract edible and usable oil has been practiced across continents for centuries, and it remains one of the primary export commodities for Malaysia. Malaysia has been a big part player in the palm oil industry, with an estimated 5% of global productions as of 2006. Malaysia produced 17.7 million tonnes of palm oil in 2008 and is currently the second largest palm oil producer.

Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the oil palm 'Elaeis guineensis' and palm kernel oil is derived from the seed of the oil palm. Palm oil has been used as a primary cooking ingredient in most countries as it contains less cholesterol compared to conventional cooking oil.

Palm oil use for daily activities has been widely advocated due to its lower costs and also its high oxidative stability when used in cooking. Palm kernel cakes, which are the leftovers of the palm fruit after extraction has been done is also very useful. Palm kernel cakes are widely used as animal feed for cattle for fattening and supplementary feeding due to its high protein content. It can also be used as a source of biomass to fuel up boilers for generating electricity.

The primary part of the industry would be the extraction of the palm oil from the palm fruit. For this particular purpose, specific machines known as oil expellers are used to derive the oil from the seed. The machine consists of an expeller and a screw press machine with a pressing chamber where palm seeds are fed.

This is a delicate process where the machine used pressure and friction from the screw press to transport as well as compress the oil seeds. Oil is then processed from a small opening to prevent solid materials or residue of the seeds from contaminating the extracted oil.

The leftovers of the seeds are then processed out form the other end as palm kernel cakes. There are generally two types of oil expellers - full press expeller and pre press expeller. Full press expellers are used by smaller mills whereas pre press expellers are implemented by large scale oil extraction companies.

There are many advantages of incorporating these oil expellers into the oil processing line. These expellers can help mills and companies achieve an optimum oil yield at low operating costs while incurring less direct costs.

Oil expellers also have the ability to crush all types of edible and non edible palm oil seeds. Palm kernel expeller is a by-product of the crushing and extraction of oil from seeds to gather palm kernel cakes. With the use of pre press expellers, palm kernel expellers are sometimes used along with the machine to gather leftover palm kernel cakes as a separate product.

These palm seed residues would then be sold as a by-product of palm oil to agricultural industries as a feed for ruminants. PGEO group provides quality palm kernel expellers to go along with the oil expeller machines to provide quality assured palm kernel cakes for their specific uses.
Courtesy : EzineArticles.com

[img]http://embassyofindonesia.it/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Palm-Oil-Business-Week.jpg[/img]

Sanusi is ruining this economy. Why do you think investors becoming worried about Nigeria's economic forecast?

snowdrops:

There are already individuals growing palm oil, but not large scale enough for export. The federal govt. only gives lip service to this issue, but they are never seriously interested.

This is the same palm oil that the British wanted to control as they penetrated the Eastern hinterland.

Palm oil has many uses that could help our economy.

snowdrops:

Nigeria would be interested if this crop produces quick hard currency.

That is why we need to diversify our economy. Palm oil can generate huge returns to those who are patient.

snowdrops:

They have over took us in this for several years. Since Nigeria tasted crude oil, she has never looked back.

And now they are making millions dollars and euros off of this plant that originated from Nigeria. 

[img]http://2.bp..com/-KF_Wg3520rQ/Tc_j0fmmR6I/AAAAAAAAABY/HRaB5S8hZBA/s1600/1.1263174635.palm-oil-plantation.jpg[/img]

It is a disgrace how Asian countries like Indonesia and Malaysia produce more palm oil than a country where the plant originated from.

Nigeria used to be the largest exporter of palm oil, but look at the industry now. 

This needs to change.

No warnings for Ileke-IdI or bans?

Look at how many tribal laced threads she has posted in this section.

But you all do not notice?