‘Crops that we process at NIFOR yield low’

Though NIFOR is a very old institute, yet its impact and activities have not been well felt, why?First, I want to say that research is key in modern agriculture and it must continue. In the same vein, investment is actually the cornerstone of development. NIFOR has had major contributions to crop development in Nigeria, especially […]

Though NIFOR is a very old institute, yet its impact and activities have not been well felt, why?
First, I want to say that research is key in modern agriculture and it must continue. In the same vein, investment is actually the cornerstone of development. NIFOR has had major contributions to crop development in Nigeria, especially in oil palm which is our major specialty. Our impact is steady as we are the major source for oil palm products and centre of oil palm research in West Africa.  But in the area of investments, we have not been too fortunate. Investment drives any nation’s economy. You can have all the fantastic results of researches on the shelves, if they don’t transform into production in the farm and do not reach the people, such research amounts to nothing.
Our goal at NIFOR is to make our people realise that all these crops and not just oil palm, date palm, raffia, coconut etc, are all very profitable commodities. Our people have been exploiting these crops for centuries in the crude way. They are commercially viable. We therefore want Nigerians to begin to make good money from them. We also appeal for commensurate investments.
In what way is oil palm beneficial to Nigerians?
Of course, these days we commonly talk about value chain. This means that there are a number of entry points for our people to take advantage of the profitable agric activities. For instance, they should take advantage of oil palm nursery establishments, production of planting materials, processing of these materials, marketing, etc. These are direct activity points. There is also the area of supply of inputs which equally yields much. These are very profitable areas which we want Nigerians to come into.
Most of the oil palm trees are very old, do you plan to re-plant them?
There is the need for the industry to continue to grow. This is why we intensify replanting of assorted species of oil palm trees. There is need to continue to plant improved crops.Let me also emphasise the area of plantation development. Oil palm is recognised as a plantation crop. It might be small-holding, medium or large size. There is also need for our people to join the rest of the world to apply modern technologies in planting their crops in order to maximise their returns. It is a tragedy that for too long we as a people have depended on wild planting or rather depended on the materials that we harvest from the wild.
Do other crops at NIFOR make good yields as much as oil palm?
Apart from oil palm, other crops that we process at NIFOR, their yields and returns are yet low. Though we apply fertiliser yet the processing methods are poor. And people tend to be discouraged whereas we need to do the right thing by planting improved materials. We need to apply agronomy best practices. At this point it is then easier for a small-holder farmer to pay his bills. It is also for a woman who is trading to be economically stable. These are what we want our people to begin to take advantage of.
What are the investment potentials in oil palm business?
From one hectare of oil palm trees an individual can produce up to five tons of palm oil per year. At current prices, the seller can regularly smile to the bank. Similarly, if an individual investor or a firm were to have, say, four or five hectares, he would be making multi-million Naira per annum as returns. We want our people to have this information so that they will be encouraged to invest so that the unemployed can take up this profitable business. This way, we can begin to lift our people out of poverty. As you know, a lot of Nigerians live below the poverty line yet we have vast oil palm trees everywhere in this part of the country.
Can agriculture really replace crude oil as major revenue earner in Nigeria?
Indeed. There is ongoing Agricultural Transformation Agenda of the federal government which aims to ensure that Nigerians look away from petroleum and see agric business as goldmine. We want to encourage our people to take advantage of this. If Nigerians take advantage of NIFOR’s value chain, it is possible that in, say, four years from now the story will be different.