By Dele Ogbodo
SOLIDARIDAD: a Kingdom of the Netherlands Civil Society Organisation (CSO), in conjunction with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Government of the United Kingdom (UK), have expressed unwavering hope that with the implementation of Traceability Framework, Nigeria’s palm oil annual import of $600 million would come to an end by 2027.
Fielding questions from journalists on July, Tuesday 22, 2025 at the sideline of a workshop for the Ministry staff, NAFDAC, SON, National Agricultural Seed Council, OPGAN, NPPA, NIFOR, NEPC and other stakeholders in the sector in Abuja, Mr. Kenechukwu Onukwube, the Programme Manager, for Palm Oil, Solidaridad, acknowledged that the CSO, is one of the key implementing organizations supported by others to implement a climate-smart oil-palm production system across Nigeria.
He said: “We have proof of concept that Solidaridad, has been able to facilitate the traceability framework in 4 states of Akwa- Ibom, Cross River, Enugu, and Kogi States.
“Other organizations that are also supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom include the IDH, who are also working in Edo State, doing the same thing.”
According to him, Solidaridad has borne the responsibility of ensuring that it’s able to midwife a process that has opened the consciousness of Nigeria’s palm oil farmers and processors to the need for those in that ecosystem to have a traceability system for our oil-palm in Nigeria, because before now that has not been existence.
The Programme Manager, advocated the robust need for all stakeholders to align around a common policy that will enable the value chain together and to be able to process a future-ready oil-palm subsector in the country.
According to him, Nigeria must be future-ready in the sense that we need to be able to understand what is happening in the global and domestic markets of oil palm.
Onukwube, added: “And if we set or put our house in order through a traceability system, it would really be very helpful.
“So to make this process possible, Solidaridad, has, first of all, developed the process through 4 states and found that it is possible to have an effective traceability system.
“So in Kogi, Enugu, in Cross River, in Akwa-Ibom, these traceability systems are in place. And so now, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agricultural and Food Security, because these states cannot operate in isolation and they cannot do anything without aligning with the national policy.
“In collaboration with the Federal Ministry, we are also working with them to see that this event today is happening.
“To, first of all, conscientize all stakeholders who have attended, all agencies that are directly or indirectly concerned, and to help them see the different roles that each of the agencies will play in that instance.
“To also see that the committee is inaugurated by the Minister of the Federal Ministry of Agricultural Food Security, which is being done today and then to support the process by helping the committee to see the technical processes involved and the stages that it will go through.
On expectations from the training and its impact on participants, he added: “The owners of the process are already part of it, because part of the committee members that the Minister has sworn in today are the various umbrellas associations.
“You have Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGA), you have Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria, (POFON), and then you also have the National Palm Producers Association of Nigeria (NPAM).
These represent the different producers that you have in the country, and they are already part of the process.
On safety concern and adulteration of palm oil in Nigerian markets, the Director of Agriculture at the Ministry, Dr. Iwara Ibasi, said the traceability framework has become more importantly because the whole essence of the initiative and framework that is being put in place to correct anomalies that have existed in the sector.
He said: “With this, if will be able to check the illegal practices that are going on in the sub-sector.
“With the traceability framework in place, we will be able to trace it to a particular state, a particular community, and of course a particular farm, where any adulterated palm oil originated.
“So it will be able to checkmate all these unwholesome practices.”
