The Youth In Oil Palm Initiative, established by the Volta Red Company Ltd to attract more people into oil palm farming, is yielding results. 

Following the initiative through an out-grower support scheme, over 600 people are now engaged in full-time oil palm cultivation.

The farmers, spread across the Oti and Volta Regions, are receiving both technical support and farming tools from the company to enable them to cultivate large tracts of oil palm farms.

The programme is intended to get the youth into the oil palm value chain and also earn decent incomes. 

Field trip

The Executive Director of the Volta Red Company Ltd, Nicholas Fatu, made this known during a day’s field trip to the oil palm processing plant and farm at Ahamansu-Junction in the Kadjebi District in the Oti Region.

He said the company had specialised in sustainable oil palm cultivation, processing and support services for smallholder farmers.

Mr Fatu, a farmer who emerged as the first runner-up National Best Farmer in 1998, said at the moment, they had established over 2,000 hectares of oil palm plantation, partly under irrigation, 600 smallholder farmers that fed their 13 metric tonnes per hour capacity processing plant at the Ahamansu-Junction.

According to him, the site of the processing plant was 25 kilometres away from the farms, which contributed to a lot of expenses in the movement of the produce from the farms to the mill.

Appeal to government

Mr Fatu, who was also the Volta Regional Overall Best Farmer in 1995, made a passionate appeal to the government for a $3 million credit facility to purchase a new oil palm processing plant to expand its capacity.  

He explained that the new plant would not only assist the region in maintaining its reputation as a producer of quality palm oil but would also create new opportunities for the farmers.

Mr Fatu said with the upgrade, they intended to install palm kernel oil extraction and by necessary implication, increase revenue for the government.

He said since most of the machines would be imported, they also needed a tax relief on the said machinery.

Mr Fatu said they were ready to make the theme of this year’s farmers day celebrations, “Feed Ghana, Eat Ghana, Secure The Future”, a reality. 

Oil palm

He was confident that oil palm was the only crop that could make the 24-hour economy policy of the government a reality.

The Mill and Farm Manager of Volta Red, Seidu Ibrahim, said they had a 3,000-seedling nursery of improved oil palm that would be supplied to the out-growers at a minimal cost, along with technical advice and credit facilities.

At the moment, he said, employment that stood at 400, mostly women, would lead to increased remuneration for the farmers, whose toil had brought the industry that far.

Mr Seidu Ibrahim said the mill had become a ready market for the produce of the farmers, which had improved the economy of the area to a large extent.