BENIN CITY – The Africa Oil Palm Initiative (APOI) has said Edo State is leading a regional expansion in oil palm development in the Niger Delta region, leveraging its sustainable models and approaches to create a regional platform.

This was contained in a report titled “The Africa Palm Oil Initiative: Highlights 2019-2020,” x-raying efforts to emplace a sustainable way to increase oil palm production in West and Central Africa.

According to the report, “In Edo State, one communications campaign has had a massive impact – raising awareness of the successes in Edo has caused a further 6 other palm oil producing states in Nigeria to join the platform. The campaign was centred around materials produced showing stakeholders how to get involved in the platform and outlining the aims and processes of APOI.

“The facilitator used this information at conferences held in the state and beyond at the NEXIM Bank Forum 2020, which attracted CEOs, governors from other states, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and palm oil producers and processors.

“At the following platform meeting they discussed how to expand the Edo State platform into a Regional platform, with the addition of the six other states of the Niger Delta geopolitical region – Ondo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross-Rivers, Delta, and Awka-Ibom States.”

The APOI ranked Edo among nine other Africa countries leading the resurgence of oil palm production. The countries include Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Republic of the Congo, and Sierra Leone.