Chukwudi Nweje
Four oil palm producing states – Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Enugu, and Kogi have endorsed the National Initiatives for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Oil Palm Smallholders (NISCOPS) project in Nigeria.
The initiative is the brainchild of Solidaridad West Africa (SWA) Nigeria with the support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The endorsement came after a two-day inter-state stakeholders forum organised by Solidaridad Nigeria in the four states where the NISCOPS project is being implemented.
In a statement, Solidaridad said the forum created the synergy between the different stakeholders in the oil palm sector for climate friendly approach to oil palm production.
Kene Onukwube, Programme Manager, Oil Palm, SWA, Nigeria, said the project was designed to ensure increased productivity of palm oil in an environmentally friendly way and also improve the livelihood of smallholder oil palm farmers.
“The interest in NISCOPS from the four states is a good indication as the project is designed to transform oil palm production in the country with much concern to the environment during cultivation and processing,” he said.
He stated that the project would achieve for Nigeria self-sufficiency in palm oil productivity, reduction in greenhouse gas emission at the mill level, and improvement in income and livelihood of smallholder oil palm farmers.