19/01/2010 (Liberian Daily Observer), Monrovia - In an attempt to boost the economy of Liberia amidst the global financial meltdown, a two-day workshop to draw a master plan for the palm oil industry is expected to be held from Thursday, January 21 to Friday, January 22, 2010 at Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Participants at the workshop, themed “Liberia Oil Palm Workshop & Trade Fair,” will include smallholders in the country’s oil palm industry as well as donors, investors, senior government officials and international partners.

The director of the oil palm processing component of the Liberia Smallholder Oil Palm Revitalization Project, Tate Munro, told the Daily Observer over the weekend at his Congo Town office that the industry is expecting an investment of at least US$2.6 billion by the three companies contracted to begin operations in the country – Sime Darby, Veroleum and Equitorial Palm Oil.

Along the coast from Cape Mount to Maryland Counties, palm trees will planted by the international companies, while local palm oil industries will graded, Munro said.

The Palm Oil industry consultant added that the workshop is intended to train the 220,550 smallholders in palm oil industry in yielding high products and in accessing credit and cultivating 100 percent of their products.

“Statistics show that palm trees in Liberia have lived over 30 years, which means they are old and there is a need for new ones.

“There is also a need for the improvement of processing equipment, how to have access to credit and improve the palm oil product as well as teach the farmers the importance of the kernel and chaff.

“Research has it that the locals lost 50 percent of their oil during production, and 35 percent of the palm trees are not harvested because of lack of equipment,” Munro explained.

According to the Winrock International representative, some topics that are expected to be addressed are global trends in oil palm, the West Africa Regional Summary on Palm Oil Activity and the current status of Liberia’s oil palm activities and value chain.

Others include the Poverty Reduction Strategic (PRS), adding value, investment opportunities, environmental protection (opportunities and threats) and gender mainstreaming and inclusivity.

The two-day workshop will be organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with Sustainable Tree Control Program (STCP), United States Agency for International Cooperation (USAID), the United States Development Authority (USDA) and Winrock International.

“We expect the Vice President of Liberia, Mr. Joseph N. Boakai, to give the opening remarks, while the Minister of Agriculture Dr. Florence Chenoweth will give the welcome remarks.

“The aim of this workshop is to make a blueprint of Liberia’s palm oil master plan, which we expect to be completed within a year.

“We expect about 1,000 participants, and there will also be a trade fair, selling of materials made from palm tree and freedom mill, which is used to process palm oil,” Munro said.

The trade fair is organized by the Miss Boss Lady Entertainment International.