Securing the Kogi State Economic Wellbeing through Red Oil Palm Plantation, Fruit Processing and Marketing of the Products

Abstract

The study examined the potentials in oil palm plantation and related products in sustaining the future economy of Kogi State. The trends in the economy of the State in recent times show that the future is bleak as poverty is daily on the rise; virtually very few persons are being employed in the midst of the teaming youth population of the state. Even those on government employment are not having it lightly in the menace of poverty as the majority is virtually living from hand to mouth to sustain daily living. These happen daily yet we seat on natural resources we are endowed with. However in the midst of this bleak future, is the ray of hope harped on investment in palm plantation and processing of its fruits. According to the World Bank (2010) “ oil palm (elaeis guineensis) is one of the leading tropical vegetable oil plant due to its fastest growing global demand as an input for food products, cosmetics, animal feeds, bio- energy etc”. The use of palm oil is innumerable from household foods to cosmetics and international trade in vegetable oils; hence investment in this veritable agricultural sector could go a long way in securing the future of Kogi State. The good news about the State is that there is no part of the state that its land is not fertile for the growth of this tropical crop. Also the climatic variables are all conducive for the growth, fruiting, harvesting and processing. Nigeria as a nation discovered it before and after independence and prospered in it to be the world’s largest producer of red oil, but dumped it at the discovery of the petroleum crude oil from the early seventies. Today we have a national economic downturn as the price of crude oil has crashed worldwide which substantiate the call for economic diversification. Data for the study were sourced from various documents on oil palm plantation and processing, research institutes, library, journals, long time observations and participation in the business locally. The data were analyzed using discreet statistics and presented in tables and graphs. The study concluded that there are varied potentials in oil palm sector and if properly harnessed could go a long way in rejuvenating and sustaining the economy of the state.