Why Demand For Palm Seedlings Is Increasing In Enugu
A research conducted by THE WHISTLER in Enugu, weekend, indicates that many residents are now planting palm seedlings as investments.
While some attribute the surge to the increasing demand for palm produce for industrial use, many however said herders do not destroy palm trees like other crops.
Mr Uchenna Nnadi is the Director General of Nsukka Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture. He said that palm plantation was not alien to the people of South East at large, but was not sustained by the subsequent generations of Ndigbo.
Quoting him, “Palm tree is so valued among the Igbo as its products are used in all spheres of our existence. They are used for food for human beings and animals, construction of and securing homestead, making fire and lighting, marriage rituals, religious ritual and symbolism, capital [collateral for loan] and store of value, as well as sources of livelihood.
“Palm tree farming is a long term investment and was used to teach young people the art of postponing immediate gratification for long-term well-being. Today, Malaysia and Indonesia have shown that over 21 products could come from palm tree, including the highly sought after industrial magarine.
“Ndigbo are again embarking on palm tree of late as a way of going back to their first love as enumerated above, in one hand. On the other hand, Ndigbo are not shielded from the global relevance of palm produce and its allied products. Palm produce is lucrative and more environmentally friendly much more than crude oil and other solid minerals. Herders cannot easily destroy palm plantation as they do with other crops.”
Dr Emeka Onah is an agro-economist. He said palm plantation was conceptualized by the pioneer Igbo nationalists, adding however that “our subsequent leaders did not encourage it because of corruption and lack of vision”.
According to him, “The counterpart funding for the first Land Grant University in Africa, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, came from palm produce. Every part of palm tree has high economic value.
It is therefore a welcome development that Ndịgbo at large are re-embarking on palm-tree planting.”
He said the current massive palm plantation was a welcome development, and should be sustained.
In his words, “I suggest that cooperatives should be formed among the palm-tree planters in order to scale the business and explore further the extended value chains of palm business. This will also give Ndigbo opportunities to explore Growth Board structure with Nigeria Stock Exchange as well as Commodity Exchange Market.”
A visit to Poultry, a popular agro-settlement in Enugu, reveals a beehive of palm seedlings purchases, with the sellers always on their toes to meet the demands of the buyers.
Felicia Eze sells palm seedlings. She said she and her colleagues make orders for the seedlings from Benin during the dry season, and then nurture them for sale during rainy seasons.
“We plant them and nurture them to what you see here,” she said, adding that, “I have been in this business for over thirteen years. My mother was doing it before she died. It is lucrative. The demands have been on the increase in the past five years. I think Igbo people are waking up. Big men now own large palm plantations unlike before.
“The demands are more than supply. Some will come in mini trucks, and buy in thousands. I have trained two of my children in the university through this business. I encourage more people to go into the business.”
Another seller is Joyce. She said she had sold over twenty thousand palm seedlings this year. “The rain that is not falling all the time is our problem,” she said. “Any day that rain falls, you see people rushing to buy. Some will just buy like ten, some twenty, but some buy in thousands. I think it’s about how much land they have.”
Onyebuchi Odo has a palm plantation in Ezimo. He said, “The truth is that things have changed radically. We are battling to be producing people, not just consuming. Some species of palm trees begin to bear fruits within three years, some four. It takes one nothing to plant them with minor tending.
“In my own case, I plant cassava in my palm tree farms to protect the palms from bush burning. They grow well when they are adequately taken care of. I advise our people to go into palm plantations. The business is rewarding.”
Priscilla Chinwe has a palm plantation. She said, “The problem we have is land ownership. I only have three plots of lands. I planted palm seedlings on them. If I had ten hectares, I would have utilised all of them for palm business. I lived in the North, and admire how they nurture their palm trees.
“Igbo are being mocked as consuming people in Nigeria. You will see what will happen in the near future. Igbo people forgot what God blessed them with by leaving palm farming and relocating to the West and the North solely for buying and selling. We are gradually coming home.”
Dr Paulinus Mbah is an agro-economist. He said, “The business isn’t alien to our people. Former Premier of Eastern Region, Dr Mike Okpara, built the economy of the region on palm plantations. That was Zik’s concept. It is the oil boom that made all Nigerians begin to chase shadows. So the revolution has come, and we shall be better of it soon. I urge those in authorities to ensure security, availability of manure and agro-extension officers to make the Okpara dream return.
“Our problem is also land ownership. Lands are expensive to buy, and many won’t like to plant or sell. The awakening has however come.”
Patrick Ogbu lives at Coal Camp. He said, “The maltreatment of the Igbo in some parts of the country forced most of them to return home. I spent 29 years in the North. Everything I had there was burnt during crisis. I returned home and literarily became a stranger. My father left a large expanse of land for me. A seminar I attended at Enugu SME Centre opened my eyes on the prospects of palm plantation.
“I embarked on it, and today, I am fulfilled. I have a palm fruit processing plant. So, the call to invest at home is making many Igbo people return to agriculture; and palm plantation seems the most continent and profitable.”
Findings show that most of the planters have switched from local palm breeds to high breeds, such as Malaysian dwarf seedlings and Terena species, with the prices ranging from N1000 to N5000 per stand.
Why Demand For Palm Seedlings Is Increasing In Enugu is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
