CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the Study
The
oil palm (Elaeisguineensis) is one of the most important economic crop
in the tropics. Oil palm is the most important source of vegetable oil of all
oil bearing plants, and is the highest yielding too (Kolaosoye, 2005; Odior,
2007). This important economic tree is generally agreed to have originated from
the tropical rain forest region of West Africa. The main belt runs through the
southern latitudes of Cameroon down to Nigeria and through Togo. The oil palm
is indigenous to the Nigerian coastal plain, having moved inland as a staple
crop. In Nigeria, oil palm cultivation is part of the way of life of most
people living in the southern part of the country. It is like their culture
(FAO, 2007). Additionally, every part of the oil palm can be put to
advantageous use, such as palm ribs and fronds for roofing and thatching,
brooms, baskets, wickerwork and mats while its residue can be used for fire
lighting and as energy source, and is particularly suitable for low-cost and
low-technology activities. Due to all these uses, it offers an almost unlimited
scope for employment and thus a source of livelihood and income for many
(Oladipo, 2008). According to Ayodele (2010) oil palm production provides jobs
for at least 1.8 million Nigerians.
The
increase in demand for oil palm products has necessitated the improvement of
the crop in various ways, from its method of cultivation to its harvesting and
processing, in harmony with recommended agronomic practices. For this harmony
to be realized, the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) was
established in Benin City, Edo State in 1981 to genetically improve oil palms.
This involves improving its agronomic practices, including planting,
cultivation and harvesting techniques, to develop control measures for pests
and diseases of palms, processing, preservation, storage and utilization of
palm products among other functions that NIFOR is committed to carry out (Ayeniet
al., 1996).
Food
and Agriculture Organization (2003) asserted that due to the economic
importance of the oil palm as a high-yielding source of edible and technical
oils, the oil palm is now grown as a plantation crop in most countries with
high rainfall like Nigeria. The oil palm is said to be rich in oil production,
and one of its products namely palm oil, is in high demand world-wide. This
fact is made clearer by what is stated in (www.tropentag.de/2003) that: 90% of
the palm oil produced finds its way into food products, with industrial uses
accounting for the other 10% of palm oil produced. For instance, palm oil is
used in a wide variety of food products such as margarine and cooking oil.
Over
the last four decades, palm oil has been the driving force in the world of
edible oil and fats (Ugwu, 2009). He further opined that palm oil is endowed
with good technical attributes and economic advantage as one of the most
produced and consumed oil. Palm oil is also said to beckon on its users by its
price and technical superiority among multitude of edible oil applications due
to its availability all year round (Ugwu, 2009). For the palm oil processing
industry to sustain this competitive edge, continued research is very crucial
in regard to appropriate processing technology to pave the way forward in
shaping the future of the palm oil industry. However, in Nigeria, 80% of palm
oil processors comes from dispersed smallholders who harvest semi-wild palm
fruits and use manual processing techniques, a processing technique that is
labour intensive and highly inefficient, with a low palm oil extraction rate
and high free fatty acid (ffa) content that can be up to 30% in some instances
(Orewaet al., 2009; Ugwu, 2009). From 2000-2008, Nigeria‟s palm oil
production increased, but still unable to meet up with local demand how much
more, global demand (www.crnindia.com). Nigeria was one of the world‟s
exporters of palm oil in the 60s, but today can no more meet up with local
demand for palm oil; rather she is now a net importer of the product.
1.2
Problem Statement
Nigeria
is the third largest producer of palm oil in the world, yet she imports palm
oil to meet her domestic demand. Nigeria‟s goal therefore, should be to meet
the domestic demand and if possible, compete with other countries such as
Malaysia and Indonesia known as the leading countries in palm oil processing
(Ayodele, 2010). In line with this, the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm
Research (NIFOR) has made various efforts as a research institute to improve
the processing of palm oil in Nigeria. NIFOR, for instance, had made some
efforts to improve on the traditional milling methods by producing Small-Scale
Palm oil Processing Equipment (SSPE) (Ayeniet al., 1996; Ugwu, 2009)
which could remove the tedium and drudgery, and improve the quality of the palm
oil extracted (FAO, 2005; Odior, 2007). Observably, most literatures either
focus on the labour intensiveness of traditional method of palm oil processing,
along with its low quality and high free fatty acid content (Ayeniet al., 1996;
Olagunju, 2008; Ugwu, 2009) or are silent about the efficiency of traditional
method of palm oil processing. The Food and Agricultural Organization (1984)
however, puts it at between the rates of 20% to 30% of oil extraction when
using the traditional method. On the other hand, Orewa (2009) and Wahid et
al. (2010) opined that traditional methods, which use rural techniques, are
primitive, labour intensive and highly inefficient, producing negligible
quantities of low quality and unstable palm oil with a limited shelf life.
Orewa (2009) further showed that traditional methods in Nigeria, on the
average, yield about 4% crude palm oil of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) compared to
18% - 23% achieved by industrial and intermediate scale technologies. This
means that 80% of the oil that could potentially be recovered is never
recovered and therefore goes to waste (Wahid et al., 2010).
Additionally, Nigeria‟s extraction rates, in comparison with other countries of
the world, are very low. It was rated 18%, as against 25% in Thailand and 90%
in Malaysia (WRM, 2001; Chavalparit, 2006). Small scale farmers in Nigeria,
produce over 80% of the total production of palm oil, using traditional
methods. However, the traditional methods usually yield high rate of free fatty
acid (FFA) that can be as high as between 5% - 30%; as against 5% or less,
which is the internationally acceptable standard (Orewaet al., 2009;
Ayodele, 2010). They further assert that the high rate of FFA occur as a result
of using traditional processing method, where bunches are kept for about 7-9
days or even more to allow for the fruits to get loosened from bunches before
processing. This delay causes a build-up of FFA (Orewaet al., 2009;
Ayodele, 2010).
Additionally,
processors level of adoption of the recommended technologies in the study area
is not known. Factors influencing their decision on either to adopt the new
technologies or not, is not known also. This study revealed factors influencing
processors‟ decision on adoption of the recommended technologies. An
investigation was carried out to ascertain the constraints associated with
processing activities in order to identify areas in which processors require
assistance and empowerment to enable them adopt the recommended processing
technologies and if possible, own them. It was also observed that there are no
extension agents in these communities to inform and guide these processors in
their use of the processing machines. Therefore, one is tempted to ask, from
where do these processors get their awareness of the use of these machines? In
order to examine these issues, the following research questions were put
forward:
i.
what are the socio-economic characteristics of palm oil processors in the study
area?
ii.
what are their sources of information?
iii.
what is the level of adoption of recommended palm oil processing technologies
in the study area?
iv.
what are the factors influencing adoption of the recommended palm oil
processing technologies?
v.
what are the effect(s) of adoption of recommended palm oil processing
technologies on output and income of respondents
vi.
what are the constraints faced by the respondents in adoption of recommended
palm oil processing technologies?
Department: Agricultural Economics
Format: Microsoft Word
Format: Microsoft Word
Chapters: 1 - 5, Preliminary Pages, Abstract, References, Questionnaire
Delivery: Email
Delivery: Email
No. of Pages: 99
Price: 3000 NGN
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