Nigeria’s oil palm industry is set to undergo a transformation as the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN) partners with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to attract €300 million in investments. The initiative aims to expand palm wine production, introduce innovative uses for palm trunks, and modernize plantations in Cross River and Akwa Ibom states.
Alphonsus Inyang, NPPAN’s national president, revealed that the investment, running from 2024 to 2026, would fund projects including palm wine processing and export, replanting old plantations with hybrid seedlings, and processing palm trunks into building materials for European and American markets.
“This partnership is expected to create over 100,000 new businesses for palm wine tappers and generate 200,000 jobs in the furniture and construction industries,” Inyang said. Two new factories will train tappers on advanced technologies to tap, process, and bottle palm wine for export.
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A delegation of investors from Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, and Malaysia recently toured Lagos, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom to finalize project commitments. These factories will handle up to 30,000 hectares of production, transforming waste materials like palm oil sludge into industrial products such as biogas for local and international markets.
Inyang highlighted the environmental benefits of replanting depleted plantations with hybrid seedlings capable of producing over 40 tonnes of palm fruit bunches per hectare. “This initiative will revitalize the industry, making it competitive on a global scale,” he added.
The project is set to empower local communities, boost exports, and position Nigeria as a major player in the global oil palm market.
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