Foundation to Invest N2bn in Oil Palm Plantation

• Foundation to Invest N2bn in Oil Palm Plantation

The Mike Omotosho Foundation has said it will invest N2bn in an oil palm plantation for which 15 hectares of land have been acquired in Kwara State.

The Chairman of the Foundation, Dr. Mike Omotosho, said this in Abuja on Thursday at a press briefing to announce a conference on agriculture scheduled to hold in the Federal Capital Territory on Saturday.

Justifying the decision to invest in oil palm, Omotosho said it was necessary for the nation to get its position back in palm oil production, expressing regret that 55 per cent of the palm oil being consumed in Nigeria was being imported

He said the Foundation was working with the Nigerian Institute of Oil Palm Research and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture to realise the plan.

Omotosho stated, “The palm tree is one of the agricultural commodities whose every single part is useful for something. It is not just the oil, but the oil appears to be the product with the highest economic value. When you start an oil palm plantation, once it begins to produce, it can continue to produce for between 35 and 200 years.

“It is not a cash crop you plant this year and also harvest the same year. If you want something sustainable, you have to look into the future. If I cultivate land today and I don’t have to cultivate next year, why shouldn’t I consider that as a better option than cultivating every year?”