The Ogun Government on Thursday said it was collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to boost oil palm production in the state.
Dr Adeola Odedina, Ogun Commissioner for Agriculture, made this known during an inspection tour of Apoje Farm Settlement, where an oil palm processing mill is located.
The oil palm processing mill is being managed by Agricultural Development Corporation, Apoje, Ijebu-North Local Government Area, Ogun.
Odedina noted that the inspection was at the instance of Gov. Dapo Abiodun, saying that the state-owned oil palm mill was established in 1958 and needed to be refurbished for maximum output.
According to him, the facility sited on 8,000 hectares of land, requires CBN intervention for proper maintenance to process palm oil in larger quantity.
He added that abandoned oil farms owned by individuals would be revived, saying that interested oil producers should also leverage on the CBN intervention scheme.
“We are turning our searchlights on this facility, we are doing survey of potential areas of intervention by the CBN so that at the end of the day, we move up the ladder of oil production in the state.
“There are lots of applications for collaboration by private investors within and outside the country and there are lots of room for improvement.
“CBN is here to upgrade our state’s value-chain through this window of opportunity,” he said.
Also speaking, the Head, Development Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, Abeokuta, Dr Oluyemisi Olukoya, said there was need to visit the two oil palm estates in the state.
She said this would ensure sustainability for investment, expansion and rehabilitation in collaboration with the state government.
She added that oil palm as an essential commodity needed to be tapped into, hence the need for collaboration between the state government and CBN.
“Apoje is synonymous with oil palm. We have been hearing of this place for quite a long time.
“We see that a lot of investments have been put in place and we believe there is room for improvement because there is a lot of potential here,’’ Olukoya said.
Facilities inspected include oil palm mill, steriliser, boiler, palm tree plantation as well as nursery farm areas.
Other dignitaries on the inspection tour included, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Dotun Sorunke; and the General Manager, Ogun State Agricultural Development Corporation, Mr Femi Soremekun, who conducted the team round the facilities.
