Vanguard (27/07/2025) - According to Kyari, the new move is to revamp and position the oil palm subsector for global competitiveness and attract more investors based on the huge potential Nigeria has in the value chain, and already playing a key role in that regard.

The Minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, said it became imperative for the government to set up the committee, whose responsibility basically is to tackle the menace of adulteration, poor processing and packaging, and also to encourage value addition to the commodity.

He also said the Committee would serve as the driving force behind the traceability system, fostering coordination across federal and state government agencies, private sector actors, farmers’ cooperatives, processors, market associations, development partners, and donors.

He said: ‘’The establishment of a national traceability system for palm oil is a clear demonstration of our determination to modernize agricultural value chains, enhance global competitiveness, and promote responsible production and sourcing throughout Nigeria’s oil palm sector.

“Traceability is essential for boosting consumer confidence and upholding product integrity.

“It helps to eliminate adulteration, enforces compliance with national and international quality benchmarks, and strengthens the competitiveness of our palm oil in key industries such as food processing, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.

“Nigeria must not only produce for local consumption but also for export in order to boost the country’s revenue.”

The committee will operate under the National Initiative for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Oil Palm Smallholders, NISCOPS, in Nigeria.

Earlier, in an address of welcome,
the Director, Federal Department of Agriculture, Iwara Bassey said that the initiative basically would establish a comprehensive National Palm oil Traceability System that monitors production, certification, value and supply chain data, among others.

Also, the Programme Manager, Oil Palm of Solidaridad Nigeria, Kenechukwu Onukwube, said, “Solidaridad is one of the key implementing organisations supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom to be able to implement a climate-smart oil farm production system in Nigeria.

“So, we have proof of concept that Solidaridad has been able to facilitate in four states. These include Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Enugu and Kogi States. Other organisations that are also supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom include the IDH who are also working specifically in those states doing the same thing.

“Solidaridad has borne the responsibility to midwife a process that has, first, opened the consciousness of people to the need for a traceability system for our oil palm in Nigeria — because that is currently non-existent — and the need for all stakeholders to align around a common policy that will enable us to process a sustainable future.”

Onukwube corroborating what the Minister disclosed on Nigeria’s spending of $670 million annually on palm oil importation said, “The fact that we are still importing is because our own domestic arrangements in terms of productivity, whether from farm or processing from the different mills, are still fraught with some form of inadequacies that cannot be tracked to any particular location or individuals or persons or producers.

“So, with a traceability framework in place, you are likely going to be able to see that there will be more efficiency in terms of production and processing and of course, the marketing or dissemination of the products to the different locations across the value chain or the supply chain as the case may be.”

Read more at https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/07/natl-palm-oil-traceability-cttee-inaugurated-to-boost-production-exports/