An assessment of farmers' perception of priority areas in oil palm production and processing in Aniocha South Local Government Area (LGA) of Delta State, Nigeria.

Abstract

The study examined farmers’ perception of priority in oil palm production and processing. The study was carried out in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. One hundred and sixty oil palm farmers randomly selected from eight communities were sampled. A structured interview schedule was used for data collection, while percentage, frequency count and mean scores were used to summarize data. The findings of the study show that nine priority areas are crucial to increased oil palm production and processing. These are: credit facilities for oil palm farmers, favourable land tenure policy; establishment of agro-chemical and fertilizer companies; building of mechanized processing mills at strategic locations; construction of access roads to palm plantations; providing ready markets for oil palm products; and sponsoring research on high yielding varieties and low-cost processing techniques. The study also found low technology utilization among oil palm farmers. The study recommends that the priority areas identified in this study should guide future efforts of government in revitalizing the oil palm production sub-sector. Also, oil palm farmers should be sensitized by the agricultural extension agency on the need to use improved production technologies.