In the 1950s, Benin launched its first oil palm sector industrialization program in which the colonial government invested in large-scale, public industrial processing facilities. After independence in 1960, the national government established more facilities with greater capacity and planted around 30,000 hectares of selected oil palm seedlings.
Why is oil palm important in Benin?
In Southern Benin,the more the oil palm acreage is wide, the more farmers are wealthy [ 11 ]. Oil palm is cultivated by many farmers and retailed to secure a decent retirement. They used this crop to affirm and secure their land. In addition, incomes from palm kernel sales help households to pay their children school fees.
Why is Benin a hub for mass palm oil production?
From mechanized processing techniques that allow lower cost prices to a larger production of bulk sales that attract more retailers, Benin has become a hub for mass palm oil manufacturing base. The global market for peanut oil registered a value CAGR of 3.4% from 2016 to 2020.
What is the difference between oil-palm cropping and palm cropping in Benin?
The unselected palms are tapped to produce local brandy ( sodabi) from the sap. In contrast, the small-scale intercropped oil-palm cropping system that prevails in south central Benin is mainly dedicated to oil production, and planted at a density of 143 selected palms per ha (Koussihouede et al. 2020; Masure et al. 2022 ).