The government of Liberia has embarked upon a $1.6 billion palm oil project with Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), the subsidiary of Singapore palm oil producer Golden VerOleum.
The 25-year concession granted by the government, which is believed to be one of the biggest investments in Liberian agriculture, will create some 35,000 jobs in the south-eastern regions of the country.
The company will cultivate oil palm in Sinoe, Grand Kru, Maryland, Rivercess and River Gee counties. The concession is approximately 500,000 acres; however, the initial development will commence with 36,000 acres.
Palm is widespread in Liberia, with plantations traditionally being government-operated and producing red cooking oil soap for local consumption. The palm oil industry is now growing rapidly, with the relatively cheap oil in high demand for use in a wide variety of household goods. It can also be used to create biofuels.
Commenting on the announcement, Florence Chenoweth, Liberia’s minister of agriculture, said: “Sustainable palm oil development will be a central growth pillar in rebuilding our economy and reducing poverty. It will not only provide income and create employment for our people; oil palm plantations will also provide infrastructure and education to the workers in those estates and lift the overall standard of living.
“We are excited about our partnership with GVL and by GAR’s investment. As a leader in the industry, GAR has a proven track record of large-scale palm oil production and best practices to achieve high productivity and at the same time maximize preservation of both high conservation value areas and biodiversity.”
GAR’s chairman and CEO Franky Widjaja added: “We are fully committed to sustainable palm oil development and understand that this is the same ambition that the government of Liberia shares. With such a common ground, we believe that we can work together to develop the palm oil industry into becoming one of the main pillars of growth for Liberia.”
