Nigeria’s palm oil industry could soon find itself locked out of the European market unless producers and policymakers move quickly to curb deforestation and embrace sustainable farming methods.
Solidaridad Nigeria delivered that warning while unveiling a new Sustainable Management Plan (SMP) in Uyo. The framework targets oil palm production across Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Enugu, and Kogi states.
The European Union’s Deforestation Regulation has raised the stakes considerably. Nigerian exporters now face mounting pressure to prove their palm oil meets environmental standards, or risk losing access to one of their most valuable trading partners.
Ernest Ita, who manages Solidaridad Nigeria’s programs, explained that the SMP focuses on boosting output from existing plantations rather than clearing forests for expansion. The plan tackles a range of problems: ageing trees, low-quality seedlings, fertilizer misuse, insecure land rights, and deforestation.
Assessments by the organization found these issues have kept smallholder productivity stubbornly low. Yet the intervention has already delivered measurable results. More than 10,000 smallholder farmers and roughly 5,000 palm oil processors have received direct support. Around 7,000 farmers got harvesting tools, and nearly 600 farmer groups obtained improved planting materials.
Those efforts translated into dramatic yield gains. Farmers applying recommended Best Management Practices saw production roughly double, climbing from 2.7 tonnes per hectare annually to more than six tonnes.
Still, Solidaridad cannot enforce the SMP on its own. The nonprofit lacks legal authority, so Ita urged state and local governments to adopt the plan into their agricultural policies and bylaws. Doing so, he said, would align farmers, processors, and other stakeholders around a shared production standard.
The framework also addresses financing gaps through Village Savings and Loans Associations. Farmers receive help sourcing seedlings from the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research and developing side income through seedling sales.
Project Coordinator Samson Shaibu described the SMP as a practical roadmap built on environmental protection, social inclusion, economic growth, and policy coordination. Smallholders account for up to 82 percent of Nigeria’s palm oil output, making their productivity essential to industry growth.
Shaibu noted that many plantations currently hold wild or ageing palms. Replacing those trees with improved varieties, and intensifying production on land already in use, could lift output without pushing farmers deeper into forested areas.
Solidaridad developed the SMP through consultations with community, local government, and state-level stakeholders. Officials hope all four project states adopt it, with other oil palm-producing regions eventually following.
