[ 2015-07-26 ]

Palm oil can be Ghana’s next ‘gold
The Head of Corporate Affairs at Unilever Ghana,
Gabriel Opoku-Asare, has described the palm oil
sub-sector as the next “gold” sector for the
country if all key stakeholders collaborate to
grow the sub sector to meet the increasing global
demand for sustainable palm oil.

Speaking at the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 Palm
Oil Initiative Ghana Country Workshop held at the
Best Western Hotel in Accra, he said the palm oil
sector currently employs over 300,000 people in
Ghana and must be given the needed attention to
exploit its full potential to make sustainable
palm oil production the norm and not the
exception.

The workshop was organised by the Government of
Ghana through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture
and the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 (TFA 2020)
Africa Palm Oil.

In attendance was the Deputy Minister of Food and
Agriculture, Honourable Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan,
officials from Ministry of Trade and Industry,
Traditional Leaders, Civil Society, Academia,
Financial Institutions, Leading Palm Oil
production companies and Consumer Goods
companies.

The objective of the workshop was to identify the
challenges that affect sustainable oil palm
production while developing practical principles
which will guide sustainable production and
expansion of oil palm in Ghana.

As most consumer goods companies and
agribusinesses are looking to expand their
operations in Africa, there is a huge demand for
sustainable palm oil production. Mr. Opoku-Asare
said, the oil palm sub sector could easily be
developed into a key foreign exchange earner and
job creator to improve the livelihoods of millions
of Ghanaians.

“Even though Ghana is one of the leading palm
oil producing countries – second in Africa and
eight in the world, Ghana is still a net importer
of Palm Oil. Ghana’s current deficit of 50,000
tonnes in supply could hit over 100,000 tonnes in
the near future. This trend can be reversed and
Ghana can become a net exporter of palm oil,” he
said.

“Currently, most of the global consumer goods
companies like Unilever source their palm oil –
as a raw material for their products from South
East Asia. As their businesses in Africa have
expanded, they import part of their palm oil from
outside Africa to supplement local supply. This
doesn’t make sense as palm oil is a crop
indigenous to West Africa. But Ghana will only be
able to access the large and growing market for
sustainably produced palm oil if it commits to
sustainable production,” he added.

Global Commitment to Sustainable Palm Oil

He said, as one of the world’s largest buyers of
palm oil for use in products such as margarine,
ice cream, soap and shampoo- buying nearly 3% of
global supply. Unilever was one of the first major
consumer goods companies to take action to tackle
deforestation.

As far back as the mid-1990s, as part of its
Sustainable Agriculture Programme, Unilever
started developing Good Agricultural Practice
Guidelines for palm oil.

In 2004, Unilever became founding members of the
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), to
transform markets to make sustainable palm oil the
norm.

In 2008, Unilever committed to sustainably source
all its palm oil by 2015 and the end of 2012,
three years ahead of schedule, Unilever reached
its target of 100% certified sustainable palm oil,
majority of which was covered by Green Palm
certificates.

Unilever has since made substantial progress on
traceability, building towards the achievement of
its ultimate goal – 100% certified and traceable
palm oil by 2020.

Unilever’s sustainable palm oil sourcing policy
commits to: halting deforestation in its supply
chain, protecting peat lands and driving positive
social and economic impacts for local communities,
including respecting and recognizing the rights of
workers, indigenous people and local communities,
as well as increasing the inclusion of
smallholders in its our supply chain.

“Unilever believes that a profitable and
sustainable palm oil sector must find the right
balance between social, environmental and economic
objectives. This is a shared responsibility
between governments, the private sector and civil
society to work towards a collaborative solution
for a sustainable palm oil industry,” he
concluded.

Source - Unilever Ghana

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