Palm oil industry in Nigeria non-functional, says Sen.Abdullahi

Industry

By Naomi Sharang

Abuja, March 10, 2020 (NAN)The Chairman Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, said that the palm oil industry in most states was non-functional in spite of the huge potential of the sector.

He said this on Tuesday, at a one-day public hearing organised by the committee on three bills and one motion.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that bills include Nigeria Oil Palm Industrial Park, National Rice Development Council of Nigeria, Food Security and the Urgent Need to Revive the Palm Oil Industry of Nigeria.

Abdullahi said that the Senate was worried over the deplorable state of a sector that once fed the country through its oil palm in the 1950s to the 1970s.

He said: “From being an exporter of palm products, the country is now embarrassingly an importer of 400, 000 to 600, 000 MT of palm oil to meet local demands.

“There is no explanation for things to continue this way as we have the right climatic conditions to grow our palm oil industry.’’

He listed some of the industries to include RISONPALM in Rivers, ADAPALM Plantation and Oil Mills.

Abdullahi said that the hearing would investigate the challenges of developing the palm oil industry and draw conclusions from inputs from stakeholders on how to fully harness the potentials of the industry.

“We will also see how the Federal Government, through research and development can revive the moribund Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) Benin.

“NIFOR has the mandate to conduct research into improved varieties for improved yields. We will continue to make all necessary efforts until we get it right’’,  he said.

According to Abdullahi, the bills when passed, would ensure food security, promote agriculture, create jobs and develop the sector through various value chains.

He further said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was sensitive to the desire for transforming agriculture from being merely a means of attaining food self-sufficiency into a powerful engine of growth and prosperity.

Declaring the hearing open, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said that efforts at diversifying the economy  would be sustained because of the increasingly unpredictable nature of oil production and revenue generation.

Lawan, represented by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, said “the desire to expand the economy beyond dependence on oil would also have to go further than solid materials to include not just the broader description of products as agricultural, but also specific yields like palm oil.

“Happily, we have a rich history of oil palm production. The challenge before us is to revive this history to complement our many efforts in solid materials, rice among others.”

He said that just as the appropriate legislation could be very helpful in bringing about the oil palm industrial park, it could also help Nigeria’s drive to ensure food security.

Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, Abdulkadir Mu’azu, commended the Senate for contemplating the national food security bill.

He, however, cautioned that over fragmentation of agencies, policies and structures were likely not going to achieve good governance.

“This will lead to duplication and inefficient utilisation of natural resources,’’ he added. (NAN)
NNL/GOM/IU

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Edited by Gregg Mmaduakolam and Isaac Ukpoju