₦airaland Forum

lawani:
I think we have more than enough palm trees or don't we? Maybe the fruits just ripen and waste away. There are palm trees all over the south and southern middle belt

InvestSmart:
Oh yes, we have quite a number of palm trees that are not the right species and not properly managed .. But we're here advocating for a professionally well-managed palm plantation that wouldn't experience that kind of wastage you are referring to, and this starts from the choice of breed, and the right agronomy practice to nurture it all through its lifespan,

lawani:
Yes Nigeria should be making more than fifty billion dollars forex from agric export. Ghana makes ten and south Africa makes fifteen. It however appears that we are not producing enough palm oil even for local consumption

InvestSmart:
You’re 100% correct.
The painful truth is: Nigeria is not “short of palm trees”… we are short of productive palm oil.

Most of the palm trees scattered across the South/South and Middle Belt are:

-Wild groves (not plantation-grade)

-Low-yield dura varieties

-Unmanaged (no pruning, fertilization, harvesting cycle)

-Harvested late (high FFA → poor oil quality)

-Processed with outdated small presses (low extraction rate)


So yes — fruits ripen and waste, and even when harvested, we still lose a lot at the processing stage.

That’s why Nigeria still imports. Not because we lack trees, but because we lack commercial-scale yield + processing efficiency.

The same thing applies to cocoa too: the opportunity is huge, but it only becomes real when farms are professionally established and managed like a business, not like “village farming”.

I’m currently pushing this conversation because we’re working on a model where Nigerians can actually own properly planned cocoa/oil palm plantations and let experts handle the agronomy end-to-end.

If you’d like, I can share a simple breakdown (with numbers) of why Nigeria’s yield is low and what a well-managed plantation produces per hectare.
You can also DM me so I don’t spam the thread.

InvestSmart:
A rare opportunity in Agro Business beckons! (Cocoa & Oil Palm)

lawani:
I see you are an expert. I am not ready for farming for now. I wish you all the very best. The palm oil production went down during the civil war and never came up again and anything we massively produce now can cause a price crash if the production is much. However if not that we are exporting crude oil and are focussed on that then we would have been the highest producers of at least palm oil and cocoa as it was originally. Cassava is also rising with international trade in excess of one billion dollars now and Thailand is in control. Our cassava production is mainly for local consumption

lawani:
I see you are an expert. I am not ready for farming for now. I wish you all the very best. The palm oil production went down during the civil war and never came up again and anything we massively produce now can cause a price crash if the production is much. However if not that we are exporting crude oil and are focussed on that then we would have been the highest producers of at least palm oil and cocoa as it was originally. Cassava is also rising with international trade in excess of one billion dollars now and Thailand is in control. Our cassava production is mainly for local consumption

lawani:
I see you are an expert. I am not ready for farming for now. I wish you all the very best. The palm oil production went down during the civil war and never came up again and anything we massively produce now can cause a price crash if the production is much. However if not that we are exporting crude oil and are focussed on that then we would have been the highest producers of at least palm oil and cocoa as it was originally. Cassava is also rising with international trade in excess of one billion dollars now and Thailand is in control. Our cassava production is mainly for local consumption

InvestSmart:
A rare opportunity in Agro Business beacons for those with foresight and Financial literacy to hop on this for facades of yearly Cash-flow profit from harvests on your cash crop farm plantation (Cocoa & Oil Palm)

Gajagojo:
That thing we import called
Palm oill is not the same thing we call palm oil
It is vegetable oil made from palm oil
I could be wrong but that is my belief

Gajagojo:
That thing we import called
Palm oill is not the same thing we call palm oil
It is vegetable oil made from palm oil
I could be wrong but that is my belief

InvestSmart:
Countries like Malaysia and Indonesia dominate global refined palm oil exports because of large-scale processing capacity.

Interestingly, Nigeria produces crude palm oil but still imports refined derivatives due to gaps in processing infrastructure — which is part of the broader structural issue discussed in this thread.

This is why structured commercial plantation development combined with proper value-chain investment is critical if Nigeria is to regain strength in the sector.

I always enjoy discussions like this. Anyone interested in deeper industry insights or the economics behind modern plantation investment is welcome to reach out privately.

Gajagojo:
The fact that you can do something does not mean it is the optimal thing to do or that you should do it

There are environmental as well as economic dimensions to unrefined palm oil production . Refinery palm oil is just one of several. So called vegetable oils. Its health profile is different from that of unrefined palm oil though most dietary research on PALM OIL is referring to the latter

Should we be cutting down forests to grow palm trees can we think of vegetable oil from groundnut sunflower and other seeds that can grow in the north instead of cutting down forests?

Gajagojo:
The fact that you can do something does not mean it is the optimal thing to do or that you should do it

There are environmental as well as economic dimensions to unrefined palm oil production . Refinery palm oil is just one of several. So called vegetable oils. Its health profile is different from that of unrefined palm oil though most dietary research on PALM OIL is referring to the latter

Should we be cutting down forests to grow palm trees can we think of vegetable oil from groundnut sunflower and other seeds that can grow in the north instead of cutting down forests?

Gajagojo:
The fact that you can do something does not mean it is the optimal thing to do or that you should do it

There are environmental as well as economic dimensions to unrefined palm oil production . Refinery palm oil is just one of several. So called vegetable oils. Its health profile is different from that of unrefined palm oil though most dietary research on PALM OIL is referring to the latter

Should we be cutting down forests to grow palm trees can we think of vegetable oil from groundnut sunflower and other seeds that can grow in the north instead of cutting down forests?

InvestSmart:
Many people don’t realize that the real profit in palm oil globally is often in processing and structured plantation ownership rather than small-scale trading. The numbers are quite revealing.

InvestSmart:
Many people don’t realize that the real profit in palm oil globally is often in processing and structured plantation ownership rather than small-scale trading. The numbers are quite revealing...

InvestSmart:
Improving productivity per hectare through hybrid seedlings and better agronomy can increase output without cutting new forests...

On alternative oils — you’re absolutely right that groundnut, sunflower and soybean oils are viable. In fact, northern Nigeria has strong potential in that direction. A diversified vegetable oil strategy is smarter than monocropping.

The broader point I’m making in this thread is not “plant more trees at any cost.” It is about structured, efficient, environmentally responsible value-chain development instead of importing what we can competitively produce.

Gotocourt:
# Weak plantation expansion

# Processed with outdated small presses (low extraction rate)

I think the above is our major issue 📌💯.

Gotocourt:
# Weak plantation expansion

# Processed with outdated small presses (low extraction rate)

I think the above is our major issue 📌💯.

InvestSmart:
Many people don’t realize that the real profit in palm oil globally is often in processing and structured plantation ownership rather than small-scale trading. The numbers are quite revealing.