…as Gov Obaseki inspects progress of Saro oil palm project, envisions revival of oil palm industry in Nigeria
By Violet Osatohanmwen Obamwonyi
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has expressed contentment with the impressive progress made on the Saro oil palm project. He stated that the vision to restore Edo State as the leading oil palm hub in Nigeria is gradually becoming a reality through the ambitious Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP). The Governor made this assertion on Friday 21 July, 2023, during an on-site inspection of the oil palm project wherein he highlighted the allocation of approximately 62,000 hectares of land to seven companies in Oriowonhon Local Government area of Edo State.
Governor Obaseki shedding light on the progress of Saro farm project disclosed that the nursery alone is about 35 hectares, and that the materials needed to cultivate close to about 3,000 hectares are already available.
According to the Governor, “You recall when we came here last year, they had just gotten the first set of planting materials which they were propagating. Today you can see that this is only the nursery; it is about 35 hectares, and we have enough materials to cultivate about 3,000 hectares of oil palm farm land in their estate.”
Sharing insights on the goal of the oil palm programme, the Governor stated that with the success of the project, private farm owners would move into mechanized farming not just in the production of oil palm but in other cropping areas.
Obaseki said: “We gave out about 62,000 hectares to about seven companies in Orhionmwon alone, and we would start the Ovia program later this year. Our goal is to put into cultivation in terms of estate farms, approximately 120,000 hectares for oil palm. We expect that it would stimulate private farmers to cultivate another 80,000 to 100,000 hectares. So our administration would have been able to stimulate the cultivation of 200,000 hectares of land for oil palm alone, not to talk about rubber, cocoa, cassava and the other products we are looking at.”
Obaseki noted that the project is not just the cultivation of oil palm but to also enable people realize the possibility of having a large scale estate farming which has not been done in many years.
“We are now seeing Nigerian companies cultivating huge expanse of land with mechanization, with world-class management; that is the revolution I think we have started in Edo and we hope this would be replicated in other crop areas like yam, cassava and others. So that very soon we can become self-sufficient in food supply because we have all the materials and expertise to produce all we consume and even export our products to other markets.”
Governor Obaseki expressing optimism over the project in creating more job opportunities for the people of the state, stressed that it would also discourage the heavy import of edible farm produce into Nigeria. “The implication is that if you assume that you have two people employed per hectare, usually it is about four people; for 200,00 hectares you can tell how many jobs that would have been created”, the Governor said.
The Governor also expressed appreciation to the management of Saro farms and to the host communities for their cooperation and contribution to the success of the project, urging the host communities to sustain their patriotic disposition towards the state, noting that Edo is becoming a learning class for others sub-nationals who are coming to understudy the various reforms that have been carried out by his administration in health, education, agriculture, the public sector, amongst others.
