Nigeria aims to achieve self-sufficiency in palm oil production and reclaim its global market share by 2050, according to the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN). The association's national president, Alphonsus Inyang, disclosed this during the national oil palm development strategy validation meeting. He projected that annual output, currently between 1.4 and 1.5 million metric tonnes, would rise to 9 to 10 million metric tonnes by 2050 under the new strategy. Inyang, who doubles as vice chairman of the technical working group on the framework, stressed the need to boost smallholder farmers' productivity. Expansion plans include cultivating oil palm in Taraba, Niger, and Kogi States, with Taraba highlighted for its 69,000 square kilometres of land, abundant sunlight, and available water resources. The strategy also calls for the creation of a National Oil Palm Council (NOPC), an oil palm development fund, and a national smallholders development fund. The Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) is set to transition into a Nigerian Oil Palm Board to lead research and innovation.
Alphonsus Inyang's projection of a tenfold increase in palm oil output by 2050 hinges on a plan that has yet to be funded or implemented. Past agricultural blueprints with similar ambitions have collapsed under poor follow-through and bureaucratic delays. If this strategy follows the same path, Nigerian consumers will keep paying high prices for imported palm oil while local farmers remain underserved. The real test is not the vision—it's whether anyone will be held accountable for delivering it.
