FG lists oilseeds suitable for Nigeria, assures of devt

The federal government has vowed to continue to promote oilseed crops as the consumption rate grows on a daily basis.

The government noted Nigeria’s tropical climate supports the production of diverse species and varieties of oilseed crops such as almond, avocado, hazelnut, canola, castor, dika nut, melon, oil bean, sesame, cotton, linseed, flaxseed, coconut, peanut, soybean, oil palm, olive and walnut.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the increasing importance of oilseeds in industries is due to their phytochemical and other functional properties. The use of vegetable oils and fats has expanded considerably due to advancement in processing technology and the application of innovation in their utilisation.

According to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), oilseeds and products markets in Nigeria are changing rapidly.  The use in food consumption, industries and livestock feeds are undergoing robust growth.  Likewise, various initiatives by mandated research institutes, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and stakeholders in the private sector are increasing the production and productivity of major oilseeds in the country. 

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The Director General (DG) of RMRDC, Professor Ibrahim D. Hussaini, noted that due to the various interventions and collaborations, Nigeria’s oil palm production sectoris was expanding as new estates with early and high yielding oilseeds were being established. 

He said the federal government initiated several interventions on the development of major oilseeds, and that in June, 2019, the government formulated a policy to invest $500m in expanding palm oil production with the aim to increase palm oil production by 700 per cent over the next eight years (2019-27); boost annual local production to 5.0 million tonnes from the 1.0 million metric tonnes produced in 2018/2019. 

He further said, “This is encouraging increased utilisation of major oilseeds in the country.   When refined, palm oil is used in the food industry as margarine, sugar confectionary, frying fat and special fat. It is also used in emulsion base, powdered and convenience food products. Palm oil and palm kernel oil have been used to replace butterfat in ice cream and in milk preparation. Infant formulas, as well as salad oils, are now being made with palm oil as it has a low melting point. He said the Council has been a major promoter of oleochemicals production from palm oil.  The number of small scale oleochemicals producing companies is on the increase locally. In addition, palm oil utilisation for production of rubber, glycerine, candles and cosmeticsare on the increasedue to the R&D and investment promotion activities of the council in collaboration with private sector investors.

“Likewise, Nigeria’s soybean production in 2021/22 was estimated at about 1.25 million tonnes, up 43 per cent or 375,000 metric tonnes of the 2020/2021 production level.  This was above the USDA 2020/21 estimate of 875,000 metric tonnes. In view of its multifarious applications, the council has collaborated with mandated research institutes to boost soybean production and productivity in various parts of the country. However, despite the increasing production, national consumption of the oilseeds has also continued to rise. For instance the soybean consumption in 2021/22 was estimated at 1.275 million metric tonnes, up 38 per cent compared to the year 2020/21 estimate. Consumption is growing in response to increasing demand in several industries.”

“To alleviate soybean shortage, the CBN through its Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP) facilitated the smallholder outgrower projects.  This enabled farmers to plant and sells the produce after harvest. This was to reduce importation as the import in 2021/22 was estimated at 100,000 metric tonnes, up nearly 100 per cent greater than the 2020/21 estimate of 50,000 tonnes.  

Locally, soybean is increasingly being used in affordable production of cake with favorable texture characteristics.  Due to its high oleic acid content, it is used in cookies madding icing, pies, bread making, deep frying, packaged foods and in fried snacks. Among the non-food applications are the production of caulks and mastics which are useful as adhesives or sealants. RMRDC has developed small scale oil processing equipment for soy oil production. This equipment which is in the Technology and Innovation Centre of RMRDC is promoting soy oil production locally and its available to investors who are interested in soybean processing.    

Peanut production in 2021/22 was estimated at 4.8 million metric tonnes.  This is up by nearly nine per cent or 400,000 metric tonnes from the USDA official 2020/21 estimate of 4.4 million metric tonnes. Groundnuts are ranked fifth among oil seed crops in the world after palm oil, soybean, rapeseed and sunflower.  Nigeria is the largest peanut producer in Africa, accounting for 30 percent of Africa’s total peanut production, and third in the world after China and India.  However, around 30 per cent of the crop produced locally exceeded the permissible aflatoxin levels for most countries.   Although, IITA has developed aflasafe, which is a bio control solution to reduce aflatoxin in soybeans and peanuts, the adoption rate is still low among smallholder farmers. 

The shea tree is the second most important oil crop in Africa after the palm nut tree.  However, the value chain development of the shea nut locally is constrained by high gestation period of the tree and the use of traditional processing methods which limits the quality and quantity of the butter produced despite the high market potential of shea butter which is a vegetable fat extracted from shea nuts. Apart from the aforementioned oilseeds, Nigeria is fast becoming a major player in the production and processing of a host of other oilseed plant species such as castor seeds, sesame, cotton, rubbers seed oil and sunflower seeds in West Africa. The council championed the introduction of castor seeds in the country and in collaboration with mandated research institutes and private sector operatives produced improved seedlings and varietal development of some of these oilseeds. 

The oil from sunflower seeds is used in cooking, manufacture of soaps, detergents, varnish and as lighting oil. In Nigeria, a number of SME’s are producing sunflower oil which is being used for cooking and as raw material in the production of margarine, butter, bread, and snacks. Sunflower oil is locally used as a composite ingredient in bread and butter production. Aside production of edible oil, sunflower has been used as raw materials in the production of cosmetics, paints, lubricants, biodiesel, and drugs.  The Council has over the years has promoted and boosted the production of sunflower oil in Nigeria.

According to the RMRDC boss, despite the various investment opportunities in the production and processing of oilseeds in Nigeria, a number of factors are still militating against the optimal development of the sector. 

He, however, said some of the challenges were being addressed through local and international collaborations between RMRDC, mandated research institutes and other stakeholders. An example of such is the collaboration with research institutes and private sector organisations to promote the development of improved oilseeds varieties for distribution to the various oilseed producers, processors and marketers associations in Nigeria and to members of the Oilseeds Association of Nigeria (OSAN). In a number of cases the Council had to import improved varieties of some oilseeds in line with the provisions of the National Seeds Council (NSC) to boost local production in relevant ecological zones in the country.  Through this practice, some new species of oilseeds have been introduced to expand and complement existing oilseed production and processing in Nigeria.  Some of the collaboration efforts have led to the development of high yielding varieties of castor seeds, oil palm, sesame, groundnut, etc. and are promoting food security and national economic and industrial development aspirations of the country.