Minister flags off Unilorin oil palm plantation

The new plantation which covers 1,000 hectares of land is intended to be a source of revenue for the institution and also provide training and laboratory facilities for students in the departments of forestry, agriculture, plant biology and other related disciplines, according to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali.The minister described the initiative of the management […]

The new plantation which covers 1,000 hectares of land is intended to be a source of revenue for the institution and also provide training and laboratory facilities for students in the departments of forestry, agriculture, plant biology and other related disciplines, according to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali.
The minister described the initiative of the management of the university as a model towards contributing to the economic growth of the nation.
“There is no doubt that the oil palm plantation will in no small way contribute immensely to the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, of the university and the nation at large,” she said.
Chairman of the Oil Palm Plantation Committee Professor Job Atteh speaking on the project said it would be “a highly profitable venture”, disclosing that it would kick off with 10 hectares in the first instance.
Atteh, a Professor of Agriculture, disclosed that the committee had already brought 2,000 oil palm seedlings from the National Institute for Oil-Palm Research (NIFOR), Benin City, Edo State.
The committee chairman said: “We have the tenera variety, which has a high oil content in the fruit and it is expected to start fruiting in two to three years.”
On the revenue prospect from the venture, Prof. Atteh said that at maturation, the university would reap 10 tonnes of fresh fruits from each planted hectare, declaring that, “we expect to get 4,000 kilogrammes of palm oil, 500 kilogrammes of palm kernel oil and 600 kilogrammes of palm kernel cake.”
Explaining further, Atteh said: “At an estimated price of N240 per kilogramme, we will be making N960,000 per hectare from palm oil; N175,000 per hectare from palm kernel oil, at N350 per kilogramme and N4,800 from palm kernel cake at N8.00 per kilogramme”.
He added that “at the peak of production, the revenue will be about N1. 2 billion per annum from the 1,000 hectares.”