Total Exploration and Production Nigerian Limited is to give more attention to oil palm production in OML 58 communities through capacity building programmes.
The representative of the company, Mr Philip Israel, said this at Obite in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area while declaring open a Total Exploration and Productions Nigeria Limited farmers training in sustainable oil palm production.
Mr Israel said that the training was to equip the farmers with the necessary information and tools to improve their yields.
He urged the participants to take the seminar seriously as several topics ranging from application of agrochemicals and others have been lined up for them.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Maclyns Global Resources Limited, the facilitating organisation, Mr Ugochukwu Mackintosh, said that the programme was part of the capacity building programmes lined up by the company to improve the capacity of oil palm farmers in its host communities.
Mr Mackintosh said that the fifty participants had also benefitted from the distribution of oil palm seedlings by the company.
He described oil palm business as one of the most lucrative ventures, stressing that with the current high international demand for Nigeria’s palm oil, the farmers were already potential millionairs.
In his own contribution, Mr Dickson Dennis of United Phosphorous Limited stressed the need for massive investments in agriculture by governments of south-south and south-east states.
Dennis, who spoke on safe use of agrochemicals told the farmers to be careful of the type of chemicals they used for their farms and their applications.
Another participant, Mrs Nancy Iheduru, urged them to give more attention to agriculture as the oil palm industry will soon overtake the crude oil industry.