Players in the oil palm industry, as well as smallholders and large-scale oil palm plantation investors, will on Friday, November 12, 2021, converge in Benin City, Edo State during the Alaghodaro Summit, to explore opportunities in the state’s rich oil palm sector.
The summit, in its fifth edition, is scheduled to take place between November 12 and 14, 2021, with the theme, “Edo of Our Dreams: Building a Sustainable Future.”
The annual summit, to mark the governor’s anniversary in office, showcases investment opportunities in the state and the numerous achievements, reforms and initiatives by the administration to improve the living standard of the people.
Chairman, Marketing and Branding Sub-Committee, Alaghodaro 2021, Crusoe Osagie, who spoke to journalists in Benin City, said the government remains committed to harnessing the state’s rich human and natural endowments to achieve economic growth and wellbeing of citizens.
According to him, “the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led state government, in the last five years, has pursued nuanced programmes and policies to diversify the state’s economy, achieve economic prosperity, create jobs and improve the lives of the people.
“As part of the government’s commitment to rejuvenate the oil palm sector for global competitiveness, knowing its economic use to the state and country, the state launched the N69bn-Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP) in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”
“We have also continued to support the investors with the provision of land and a peaceful, secure and business-friendly environment to boost their investment,” he noted.
Osagie continued, “The Alaghodaro Summit has proven to be one of the most strategic, high-impact discourses on investment in the country, as it has helped to crystalize a number of investment decisions.
“This year’s edition promises to be even better as it will be providing a forum for investors in the oil palm sector to tap into the N69bn fund facility, knowing the economic impact on their businesses.
“Already, the state is collaborating with PRESCO Plc on the development of high yielding oil palm seeds, through a technology called in-vitro culture that it intends to establish in Nigeria. This and many more will be the focal point of this year’s Alaghodaro Summit.”
