Oil Palm Farming Without Tears – How improved harvesting technology is increasing oil palm production in the Niger Delta

On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, two women in their early 30s were on a moving motorcycle along Ubulu-Uku – Iselu-Uku road, in Delta state. The one fair in complexion was riding while the other, dark in complexion was seated on the passenger seat with a girl of about five-year-old.

 

As they approached the palm oil farm of Kingsley Ojeah, who was using a Mechanical Adjustable Harvester (MAH) to prune palm bunches from his palm trees, the motorcyclist stopped. Their greetings drew the attention of Ojeah, who stopped pruning.

 

“Is there a machine that is used to prune palm fronds from the trees?” One of the women asked Ojeah. Ojeah replied in the affirmation. In Ubulu-Uku and many parts of Nigeria where people engage in oil palm production, they use climbers prune palm fronds and harvest palm fruits. The women had never seen the technology before. The way the harvester was pruning the palm fronds in seconds amazed them. The same machine can be used for harvesting palm fruits as well.

 

In the past, Ojeah used to employ climbers to harvest and prune for him. According to him, the use of climbers does not produce the desired results. “Sometimes the fruits will ripe and spoil on the trees. When you call climbers to harvest, sometimes they will keep postponing and before you know it, the fruits get spoilt. But with use of the MAH, I cut palm fronds myself without climbers,” said Ojeah.

 

“Before now, we were involved in manual means of harvesting using cutlasses and for trees that are taller; we use the rope to climb in order to be able to prune the bunches,” says Osagie Melody, the Chief Executive Officer of Lixomon Palm Oil Farms located in Benin-Akure road, Edo state.

 

He said there are risks associated with the use of climbers, adding that some climbers have died in the course and some suffered severe injuries like broken legs. “There were instances where people fell from the trees when they climb using rope. When I get climbers to do harvesting for me, if I am not there to monitor them, when they get to trees that require a lot of work before they could harvest the bunches, they abandoned such trees.”

 

Nigeria is the fourth largest producer of palm oil in the world accounting for 3% of global production. The Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) estimates that upstream palm oil production is 0.98 million tons.

 

Considering Nigeria’s population of about 194m and per capita consumption of 12.5 Kg per person per annum against the world average of about 20 Kg per person per annum, estimated annual consumption is 2.4 million tons 2.4 million tons, Nigeria has a deficit of 0.9 million tons, worth more than USD 800 million.

 

Oil palm farmers complained that whenever they use the services of climbers, they have many palm fruits losses. “When we use climbers, there are lots of losses in the bush, and it takes more days,” said Ruth Nwangba, an oil palm farmer in Benin. “Climbing palm trees is difficult. One of my climbers cut his leg with a cutlass in the process of killing a snake he saw on the trees while harvesting,” continued Nwangba.

When we use climbers, there are lots of losses in the bush, and it takes more days,” said Ruth Nwangba, an oil palm farmer in Benin. “Climbing palm trees is difficult. One of my climbers cut his leg with a cutlass in the process of killing a snake he saw on the trees while harvesting”- Ruth Nwangba”

 

The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) introduced MAH to oil palm farmers across the Niger Delta to reduce the risks associated with climbing and increase productivity. With the use of the MAH, oil palm farmers find it easy to harvest palm bunches and to prune palm fronds.

 

“Even a blind man can see of it, it takes five minutes in pruning one tree when using a climber but with five minutes, I can prune up to ten palm trees with the use of the mechanical harvester easily,” says Ojeah on the efficiency of MAH.

“As I am talking to you, I am happy because throughout this year, I didn’t lack, my farm was always filled with bunches. If I tell you the jerry cans of oil I sold this year…, I think I made good money. Initially, I get 80 cans every year but this year I got 180,” he continued.

 

Ojeah said he has been able to buy more hectares of land where he will plant 500 palm trees as a result of the bumper harvest he got this year.

 

With the intervention of PIND, MAH has made the harvesting of palm bunches job a lot easier, says Melody. “By using the machine, one man can conveniently do the job of four persons. The job you ought to have done for four days you can complete it in one day by using the same workforce.”

 

Melody, who has four MAHs said that for them to harvest palm bunches in tall trees, they do not require rope to climb because the MAH allows them to harvest from the ground as it has the capability of harvesting from up to 25ft from the ground.

 

Nwangba said the MAH is economical and does not consume too much fuel. “With one liter of fuel, you can harvest a whole farm of five hectares. PIND has reduced my stress in the oil palm production and I get double of what I get now using the MAH and it has increased my income.”

 

In 2013, PIND engaged with Texmaco Ventures Limited, an agro-equipment distributor based in Onitsha, Anambra State to introduce the machine commercially in Nigeria. After a successful function test conducted by the Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), the sales of the machine commenced in September 2014.

 

Texmaco imported 150 units of the MAH and PIND assisted the dealer to organize demonstrations with oil palm farmers to showcase the benefits of MAH. The demonstrations showed smallholder farmers and climbers how to increase income and reduce cost with the machine. By June 2018, 354 improved harvesting equipment have been sold and used to render services to 2, 808 farmers in the Niger Delta.

 

PIND Foundation is a Nigerian non-profit organization established in 2010 by Chevron Corporation to build partnerships for peace and equitable economic development in the Niger Delta, with a vision to achieve a legacy of sustainable peace and development among communities in the region.