Eighty smallholder oil palm farmers in Edo State have benefited from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) capacity-building programme for oil palm producing communities in the Ovia South-West Local Government of the state.
The Managing Consultant and Chief Executive Officer, Foremost Development Services Ltd, Intermediary Organisation (IMO), Fatai Afolabi, said the oil palm farmers were trained on the principles and criteria of RSPO.
He said the training was to ensure an equitable playing field for all stakeholders in the palm oil industry, that focused on the three impact goals of prosperity, people and planet.
“With this training, RSPO wishes to educate the communities and other stakeholders in the palm oil supply chain on the standards to adopt for sustainable palm oil production.
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“It is also to raise the level of awareness of the people on the obligations of the communities and companies producing sustainable palm oil on matters relating to their rights, livelihoods, social and environmental management, protection of communities and employees.
Afolabi said the overall aim of RSPO is to make sustainable palm oil production the norm for oil palm farmers.
He explained that the choice of Edo State for the COEP was a result of its being the major producers of sustainable palm oil in the country.
“Edo State government has also subscribed to the production of sustainable palm oil through the application of the RSPO standards.
“It has also mandated investors through the Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP) to do the same in order to achieve a palm oil sector that is sustainable,” he said.
Participants were drawn from Madagbayo, Gbelebu, Udo and Maroghionba (AT&P) communities in the Ovia South-West LGA.
