The Managing Director of Chicason Groups, (Production) Engr
Linus Ilozue has decried the dearth of palm trees in Nigeria even as he
said that the greatest problem facing the agro based arm of the company
now is scarcity of palm kernel
He described palm kernel as the basic raw material for vegetable oil production and other ancillary products.
Engr Linus Ilozue, who stated this when Anambra State
Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Afam Mbanefo
paid a courtesy call on Chicason groups at Nnewi, said their wish for
now was to have palm tree plantation that would supply 450 tons of palm
kernel daily and reduce their dependence on importation of raw materials
.
He stated that for the company to achieve that target they
would need about 34,000 hectares of land from the Anambra State
government for the cultivation of palm trees as raw material feeder to
the company in form of backward integration.
According to him, 'We are building a new plant with
increased capacity. We want to source the palm oil locally which is now
scarce and in fact we are pushed to go to Ivory Coast to buy palm
kernel,' Ilozue said.
He stated that their target for now was to generate from
the envisaged expansion plan ,a total of 135,000 tons of palm oil in the
next three years.
Speaking on the essence of his visit, the commissioner said
he came to ascertain the level of seriousness from the company and also
to expressed the state government’s readiness to boost palm production
through the provision of large hectares of land for planting of high
yielding palm trees .
He assured Chicason groups of government's partnership in actualizing the company's expansion in agro industry.
He described the Chicason Groups as one of the serious companies in country
Mr Mbanefo restated that Agriculture was one of Governor Willie Obiano's pillars of development.
He further announced that Anambra State government has mapped out 65,000 hectres of land for Agro investments.
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