Madam Ademusire Comfort Olufemi produces palm oil. At her production factory in Ilu-Titun Osooro
town, Ondo State, she commands a lot of respect and attention. Yet, she does not grow palm
trees.what she does is to lease palm plantations from which she would harvest to get materials for
her factory. It is,therefore, not surprising that she has a hands-on knowledge about the processes
and challenges of the oil palm production before it gets to the market. Johnson Oyeyemi, our man,
spoke with her during a trip to Ilu-Tuntun. Here is an excerpt of the interview:
What are the challenges faced by oil palm farmers?
The challenges are that oil palm is not planted during dry season otherwise it will not grow well. The
seed is also another problem. Local seed don’t do well like the hybrid ones. Choice of seed to plant
also depend on the period it takes for it to do well. Good hybrid seeds start to do well between two
and three years with coming out of good fruits. Before it starts to do well, we must have applied
adequate maintenance say like applying fertilizer and other pesticides. It also requires pruning.
We understand that there are some seeds that are disease resistant, do you have access to such
seeds or are you still planting the same seed that our fathers were planting?
No, we do not have access to them
Madam Comfort Olufemi.
Do you get support from government and if so what type of support do they give you and other
palm producers?
We don’t see government but we do buy fertilizer in the market and apply same to the plantation.
Last year we heard that some fertilizers were distributed to farmers by the government, did it get
to you and other farmers in Ilu-Titun Osooro town?
I didn’t get the opportunity to get out of it. It is the Politicians that got from it.
If you are given the opportunity to ask for assistance from the government, what are the things
you will be requesting for?
If I have such opportunity, I don’t plant oil palm. I do rent and buy the seed bunch. But if I do plant
oil palm, it is fertilizer that I will request for from government.
When you compare oil palm production in the past to what obtains nowadays, will you say that
there are improvements or decline?
There is improvements
What are the improvements?
In the past, once the seed bunch is cut down from the palm tree, we use cutlass to cut it into pieces.
Some people put the seeds in the mortal, put water and use pestle on it until the oil comes up on
top of the water. It will sleep by which time the oil part will be packed out into a steel container like
cooking pot, put on fire and boil until the water dried up. But these days there are machines that do
these process better.
What do you think is responsible for the improvements?
We now have modernisation of things are done these days. We now have Digester, Press and other
machines to make production of palm oil easier for farmers.
Do you have a ready market for what you and others produce here?
Yes, there is market here but if you want to take it out to Mammy-market in Okitipupa, we make
more money than if you sell in our market here in Ilu-Titun. Even if we take it to further far place like
Ore, Ondo, Abeokuta, Lagos, we also make more money that here or Okitipupa.
Do oil palm producers here have access to modern equipment to carry out their work and at what
stage of production?
Not all the oil palm farmers have access to modern equipment. But once the seeds are separated
from the bunch, they take them to the mill of those that have these equipment and process at a
cost.
Is it true that oil palm producers deliberately create scarcity so that price of the product can go up
and they would make more money?
Yes, we all need plenty money.(Laughs)
Oil palm producers hoard palm oil deliberately?
Yes, they do hoard. When palm oil producers produce palm oil, the oil that come out may not be
enough to yield up to the money invested, so he would need to store the palm oil until raining
season, say like July, August or September the palm oil seeds that will come out will not be plenty
like that of March, April, may June of the year. So that he can sell when the demand is more than the
supply in the market, hence the reason for the hoarding/artificial scarcity.
For how long have you been in this business?
Twenty-five years
Did you learn it or you inherit it from your parents, how did you get into it?
I inherited it from my parents and when I got married I went into buying and selling of palm oil and
later I went into palm oil production.
Since you started the production of oil palm, what years have there been difficulty challenges that
shook the industry?
Yes it happened. When I was selling palm oil around 1993, I used to go and pick oil palm seed free in
the bush until later around 1997
What happened then?
They replaced the officer in charge of the plantation farms in this area around 1997. That time I used
to go and pick oil palm seeds free or sometimes buy cheap until the new officer called Mogaji came.
And things changed for me in getting the seeds the way I used to. Things became difficult because I
wasn’t making money again, I had to run away to other business until their regime left and I came
back into the business.
If any of your children offered to continue this business, will you support him/her?
I will support him/her. This is a business that is good. It brings good money. If you are a palm oil
producer and you have good money to finance it, such person will never lack money.
Apart from palm oil, what other product do you get from the palm tree?
There is palm kernel, broom, palm kernel shell
Some people complain about the absence of storage facilities. What is your position on this and if I
may ask you what do you do to ensure that you don’t lose much of your products?
I don’t see storage as a challenge. It is that they don’t want to store their product. If they want to
store it, all they need do is to buy/ get drums, put in the oil palm and cover it. It will be there and
safe. I don’t see that as a problem except you don’t want to store it. Once you get a room space
facility, put in your drums, fill them with your palm oil, cover up and lock up the room for safety.
I don’t see storage as a challenge. It is that they don’t want to store their product. If they want to
store it, all they need do is to buy/ get drums, put in the oil palm and cover it. It will be there and
safe.
It there is reincarnation and you have to choose a career once again, will you choose this business
and why?
In Jesus name, I will do it
To what extent are the Youths in this town showing interest in the oil palm plantation?
The Youths in this town have high interest in the business. They charge expensively if you request
them to come and work for you in your mill because they know that you make plenty money in the
production and selling of palm oil. They have love to do the business as they grow up
What more do you think government should do for Palm oil farmers and producers?
Provision of finance in investment in the production of palm oil, and for palm tree plantation
farmers. Those people (farmers) need fertilizer aside from money and other things like pesticides.
Some people have farms but no palm oil processing equipment such as digester, press Lister engine
etc. Those equipment are very expensive, so government should look into all this. Government can
even become off takers of palm oil seeds and process palm oil through government palm oil
processing company. This this can be established by the state government.
Some people have farms but no palm oil processing equipment such as digester, press Lister
engine etc. Those equipment are very expensive, so government should look into all this.
Government can even become off takers of palm oil seeds and process palm oil through government
palm oil processing company.
Do you have Palm oil Farmers/producers Association in this town?
None!
Do you have a branch of Farmers Association of Nigeria here in Ilu-Titun?
Not here in Ilu-Titun.
What about Cooperative Society?
We tried to have one sometime ago. We contributed lots of money. The woman that came from
Akure who said she was coordinating the society went with all our money and she has refused to
pick anybody’s call, talk less of coming here.
We tried to have one sometime ago. We contributed lots of money. The woman that came from
Akure who said she was coordinating the society went with all our money and she has refused to
pick anybody’s call, talk less of coming here.
