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The Business of Red Oil - Part 2

Used in making great soups like Egusi, Ogbono, and in its raw form, Gbanga, Red oil starts its journey to your plate (and to your stomach) from a humble gathering of palm fruit bunches planted, grown, harvested, and milled in a palm plantation. That simple.

I am usually surprised by how many people focus on one aspect of the N57 Billion business when there are a lot of areas where one can get involved in and make more money.

Please note: this is where you need your thinking caps on.

Now let’s break it down.

  1. PLANTING

    To make a tangible profit from growing palm trees you need a lot of land. I am not talking your measly 2 plots or 1 acre; I am talking hectares. You need at least 55 plots (10 acres or 4 Hectares).

    In some areas of Ogun, Osun, and Oyo state, you can get a plot of land at 60k or lease plots at a far cheaper rate per year. Better still, if you are from the eastern part of the country, you can buy or lease large expanses of land for cheaper.

    Before you buy, please meet with the village or community head of the area where the land is located. They will easily tell which lands and which families to meet that will be willing to help, plus they can help you arrange better agreements. Note, all this comes at a price.

    When planting, it is better to look for palm seeds that produce the best yield. Studies done by researchers on the Tenera variety of palm have shown that a mature palm tree can produce between 30 and 40 litres of red oil in a year. So if you are looking at producing 40,000 Litres of red oil a year, you need between 1000-5000 mature, healthy palm trees.

  2. NURTURING

    Palm trees require adequate spacing and a growth time of 5 years upwards to achieve a yield of 30-40 Litres of Red oil per tree. The adequate spacing between each tree is usually between 20 and 29 feet. Any lower than 15 feet and each tree will compete with the other for its nutrients.

    When they mature, the palm fronds will be too close together, which will eventually lead to lower yields. It is during this stage of growth that a lot of time, money, and effort are poured into nurturing the palm trees to maturity.

    This is the period where you will need to hire workers to protect and nurture the budding palm trees. They will clear its surroundings, water the plants regularly, and protect the plants from rodents (Bush cutters), who are notorious for digging up and eating the young trees. Workers are paid per month or per job. Wages range between N8,000-N14,000 per month, and in some cases are far less than that.

  3. HARVESTING AND MILLING

    The trees begin to mature and fruit in their Late Fourth and Early Fifth year. Mature palm trees are harvested year-round. When harvesting, there are two ways to go: manually or mechanically. Once harvested, the fruits are separated from the fronds; again, this can be done manually or mechanically. Milling is done with the aid of a press, where palm fruits are poured into a drum and two or more people manually operate a press to extract red oil.

    The red oil extracted is poured into a barrel, drum, or container which is stored and ready to ship to markets across the country.

Now, if you are still thinking of only focusing on the supply area of palm oil production, think again. Below are more areas you can get involved in:

  • Growing and selling of palm seeds (Seed Nursery.)
  • Planning, spacing, and stacking for palm trees.
  • Growth management: This involves hiring workers, planting, irrigation, weeding, and harvesting.
  • Milling and oil extraction.
  • Supply of Red oil.

Each of the above is a million Naira industry that someone else is tapping into.

Conclusion

You will notice that there are a lot of areas you can get into to get started. Some of these areas require more capital and resources than others.

As we go on in this blog, we will tell you more about how to get started in each area.

If you feel there is a part we are not covering or that we seem not to have adequate information, let us know via the comment section below.

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