Edo expects high forex earnings on oil palm investments

Amid the exchange rate crisis bedeviling Nigeria’s economy since the floating of the naira by the Federal Government, smart investment decisions made by the Governor Godwin Obaseki administration may see companies in Edo State smiling to the bank with potential high earnings from exports.

Okomu Plc H1 2024 report shows that the company’s export sales from January to June rose by 206.2 per cent to N7.74 billion in contrast to the N2.53 billion recorded in the same period in 2023.

The state government has, in the last five years, prioritised investment in oil palm development through the Edo State Oil Palm Development Programme (ESOPP).

This led to the injection of $3 million dollars by 10 investors who are developing over 70,000 hectares of land across the state.

The Chief Executive Officer of Okomu Plc, Dr. Graham Hefer, in an interview, said that the state government has invested in structures to expand the oil palm landscape in the state, which has made it easy for investors to do business in the state.

He said: “The structures that the government has brought into the agriculture sector have helped a lot; the manner in which the government is doing business has improved.

“We find a lot more willingness from the government institutions to work with the companies; the reports, the tools and the manner in which the government has put together various departments now are far more constructive.”