14/06/2010 (Inwent.org) - DEVELOPING A global strategy to support smaller palm oil businesses and minimizing negative environmental impacts would help future interventions in Ghana as well as the West African region, says International Finance Corporation (IFC) Principal Strategist on Global Manufacturing, Mark Constantine.

The move, he told The Chronicle Business immediately after the IFC, which forms part of the World Bank Group, held a media briefing in Accra recently was as a result of criticisms emanating from the palm oil investments in Indonesia.

African palm oil production represented three per cent of global supply, though it is the most popular food oil on the continent. Consumption in Africa is however expected to increase as the continent’s population grows.

According to Mr. Constantine, the strategy also aims to reflect and listen to stakeholders, who were very much involved with the sector while helping to identify other opportunities.

Asked whether a decision had been reached at to kick-start the implementation of the strategy in earnest, he said, “at this point, no decision has been taken yet.”

He explained that a final face-to-face multi-stakeholder consultation conference would be held in Amsterdam to digest all the inputs received in Accra, Indonesia, Washington DC and Latin America.

“A draft of the strategy would be put out in the public domain for comments from stakeholders, who had participated in the process. It would be out likely, this June and by the end of September, the final strategy would be initiated,” Mr. Constantine told the paper.

The Head of Communications of the IFC for Sub-Saharan Africa, Desmond Dodd, also told the paper there were a lot of opportunities to serve the countries of West Africa and other parts of Africa.

This, he noted, would help them to reach the potential of basic production in the food chain, mentioning food security as a major issue in Africa.

Meanwhile, a press statement by the group said about 60 people ranging from civil society groups, private companies, financial institutions, industry associations, smallholder producers, government and research institutions attended consultations.

Among other things discussed were increasing yields and productivity as well as supporting smallholder producers through access to finance, environmental certification, land policy and technology transfer.

The release further noted that though participants considered a scope for expansion, they cautioned the industry ought to be carefully managed to avert potential threats to tropical forests and associated biodiversity loss.