Inside PZ Wilmar’s oil palm estate
It was a Tuesday night. I had left Owerri, Imo State capital, at 2.42 pm owing to lack of passengers at the popular Imo Transport Company (ITC). My expectation was to get to Odukpani junction in Cross River State before 7pm. It ordinarily takes about four hours to drive from Owerri to Odukpani, but this was not to be. Police check points and bad roads dotted Owerri-Akwa Ibom-Odukpani highway. There were also other checkpoints manned by the military, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other government security agencies. As good as these checkpoints were, they caused delays. Even immigration officials would ask all passengers to recite the names of their home towns. Anybody who could not do this mechanically would face interrogation.
Long vehicles fought for spaces on the narrow highway. Frequent mentions of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) were made by frustrating passengers who felt that the commission had not lived up to its expectation.
I arrived at Odukpani Junction at 8.20pm and headed for the Calaro Estate in Akamkpa Local Government Area. Thirty to 40 minutes later, I was at the entrance of the estate. It was a historic place, even though many natives do not seem to know. Calaro Estate happens to be the place where the Malaysians and Indonesians ‘stole’ their much-touted oil palm. Today, what Nigeria has ignored is the mainstay of the Indonesian economy. The Southeast Asian country produces 36 million metric tonnes (MT) of palm oil annually, earning up to $18 billion from it yearly.
Several studies have proved that oil palm is native to West Africa, nay Nigeria. But this is a story for another day.
The estate is symbolic, being where PZ Wilmar’s 5,549 hectares of oil palm plantation sits. Calaro Estate is a village of its own. Between the entry point and PZ Wilmar’s staff quarters are palm trees big enough to cover a typical Nigerian village. Cars and motorcycles drive in and out. The rule is simple: Do not over-speed. The caveat is necessary because as oil palm trees are planted on both sides (right and left), someone can easily come out suddenly and gets hit by a moving vehicle.
It was already late so nocturnal animals were having a field day. I slept at the plantation. But I was not the only one. Senior managers of PZ Wilmar too have a home within the estate. There are quarters for different levels of staff who work for PZ Wilmar. This is seen as exemplary, unlike what is seen among firms, where staff members live far away from their farms or factories.
The quarters are also close to PZ Wilmar’s automated offices inside the estate. The offices air-conditioned and provide comfort for the hard-working staff members.
One exceptional finding is that the estate is not only filled by Nigerians but also occupied by foreigners from Malaysia, Indonesia, Ghana and other countries. It is a mixed grill, which is necessary for the achievement of oil palm result.
With the assistance of Jun Mirasi, PZ Wilmar’s project manager and Antigha Essien Essiet of the communications department, I visited the two palm oil plants (now completed). One serves as Kernel Crushing Plant (KCP), while the other is the palm oil mill (POM). The two plants are now being test-run. The POM has a capacity to produce 45 tons per hectare, while the KCP is estimated to produce 2.5 ton per hectare.
There is a reservoir, which provides water whenever there is a need for it at the factory. Calaro Estate also hosts a treatment plant, which ensures that water that is used in the production process is clean enough. I entered the bush where oil palm fruits were planted. Some are already fruiting, while others may take some time.
Before entering an oil palm plantation, ensure you are well kitted—from head to toe. If you ignore this warning, snakes may try to kiss and this may not be palatable.
It is an integrated farm, where all the production processes happen in an environmentally sustainable manner.
I was later brought into a board room for a lecture. I left the room educated on oil palm industry much more than my peers.
Asen Ako, sustainability manager at PZ Wilmar, told me that nothing is wasted in oil palm, as all by-products are either converted into other forms of oil or energy.
Ako said oil palm is refined to remove cholesterol from it, adding that firms process red oil into vegetable oil because the former may not be stored for long.
Around 2010, PZ Cussons Nigeria entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with Wilmar of Malaysia, with a view to reawakening dead oil palm estates across Nigeria, particularly in Cross River State.
The JV became a reality in 2012 when PZ Wilmar acquired the defunct Calaro Oil Palm Estate, formerly owned by Cross River government. Calaro Estate is also known as Biase plantation.
PZ Wilmar also has other plantations. The firm also acquired a proximate area known today as Calaro Extension with 2,369 ha. It also acquired Ibiae plantations with 5,595 ha; Ibad plantations in Akampa with 7,805 ha; Kwa Falls in Akampa Akpabuyo with 2,014 ha, and Oban plantations, also in Akampa, with 2,986 ha.
PZ Wilmar plantations in Cross River are altogether estimated at 26,318 ha. Target is to hit 50,000 ha in a few years.
PZ Wilmar’s investments in oil palm plantations and associated infrastructures in the Cross River State are estimated at N45 billion, Santosh Pillai, managing director, PZ Wilmar company, said.
About N20 billion has also been pumped into an oil palm refinery in Lagos.
“Plantation establishment and palm oil production are our core business and we have vast experience doing this business in Malaysia, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Uganda and other countries. Nigeria has the biggest market in Africa and is the largest consumer of the palm oil in the region,” Pillai said.
ODINAKA ANUDU