What does the future hold for oil palm in Liberia?

1. THE OUTLOOK FOR LARGE SCALE
OIL PALM EXPANSION IN LIBERIA
PRESENTED BY: CHEA B.
GARLEY/LIBERIA

2. THE MAP OF LIBERIA

3. THE FLAG OF LIBERIA

4. THE OUTLOOK FOR LARGE SCALE OIL PALM EXPANSION IN LIBERIA
 Liberia is an agricultural nation and 60% of the nation exports are derived
from agricultural products
 About 90% of the Liberian population earns its livelihood from agriculture
 It is difficult to establish with certainty the total planted acreage of Oil palm
plantations before the civil unrest, which might have been around 27,000 Ha,
 Total land allocated to the various operators in the Oil palm sector for
exploitation was estimated at 50,000 Ha.
 All the plantations in the Liberian Oil palm Sector were established between
the early sixties and the early eighties (1960 to 1984) and the trees have
considerably aged (above 30 years).
 There is a review of the current situation and investments opportunities in the
oil palm sector .
 Four major international oil palm companies two of the largest Malaysian and
Indonesian companies,Sime Darby , Sinar Mas known locally as Golden
VerOleum,Equatorial Palm Oil Limited and Socfin/Cavalla have signed and
ratified concessions agreements with the Liberian Government.

5. OIL PALM EXPORT POTENTIAL
 Oil palm is widely grown on smallholder farms often for domestic or
regional consumption and represent half the country total agricultural
GDP.
 Palm oil shows steady export growth from a very low base, with over 90%
of this being destined for north Africa
 import levels of refined crude palm oil range between 2,000 to 10,000
tonnes.
 There is an opportunity to increase local palm oil production in the county
due to a high consumer preference.
 Major plantations in Liberia have indicated expansions plans but land
tenure has been stated as a major constraint.
 There is an unmet demand for palm oil in the ECOWAS region, which is
estimated at 360,000 tons annually.
 This regional demand is a potential export market.
 The relatively high costs of sea freight in combination with the fact that
other vegetables oils are relatively more expensive make industrial
production and processing of palm oil an economically viable option.

6. Con’t
 In 2005 production was 30,000 tons (IFC figure) to 42,000 tons (USDA
figure), all consumed locally, with another 7,000 tons of refined palm oil
imported from South East Asia.
 ECOWAS, West African nations as a whole imported 308,000 tons in
2007, so there is clearly already a large unmet regional demand for palm
oil.
 The post- conflict reconstruction of the oil palm sectors offers major
opportunities for introducing international best practices to be designed
in from an early stage.

7. PRODUCTION POTENTIALS
The favorable agro-climatic conditions of Liberia
ensure that the potentials of the oil palm sector
are quite impressive compared to sub regional
sectors with poorer soils and significant moisture
deficits.
 with the right investments and industrial
management approach, the Liberian Oil palm
Sector is capable of easily producing 18Mt to
20Mt of FFB per hectare.

8. Basic Facts about Liberia’s Oil Palm Sector
 Virtually all production in small-scale community-based farms widely
dispersed through the country, with very low yields on largely
unmaintained and aging trees. Current estimated direct employment &
income impacts about 40,000 families.
 Industrial estates almost entirely shut down or abandoned during the
conflict era of 1989-2004.
 Highly unreliable data indicates total output about 183,000 tons of fresh
fruit bunches (FFB), or 44,000 tons crude palm oil (CPO), currently valued
at around US $30 million at current world prices
 Industrial post-harvest facilities were all closed during the height of the
conflict era.
 Liberia is a net importer of about 11,000 tons palm oil per year, with
regional irregular trade and no food-grade exports.

9. LARGE SCALE OIL PALM EXPANSION IN LIBERIA
 Golden VerOleum(Liberia) Inc., a subsidiary of the Verdant Fund Lp whose
major investors include Golden Agri- Resources Ltd entered in to a concession
agreement with the Government of Liberia for the development of oil palm
plantation in Sinoe, Grand kru, Maryland, Rivercess and River Gee Counties in
Southeastern Liberia.
 The signed and ratified concession agreement which was awarded to GVL
covers a total of Approximately 500,000 acres (220,000 hectares).
 a Liberian smallholder program is to develop 100,000 acres (40,000 hectares)
of oil palm in support of local Liberia oil palm initiatives.
 GVL has decided to initiate this large-scale oil palm plantation by beginning
with the cultivation of 33,000 ha of land in three districts of Sinoe
 GVL has already obtained a provisional permit from the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for the establishment of a 50 acres nursery,

10. SIME DARBY
The Liberian Government in a 63 years
concession agreement with Sime Darby
provided 120,000 hectares of land in three
counties (Bomi, Cape Mount and Gbarpolu) for
the planting of oil palm.
 The government promised to make available
additional 100,000 hectares of land. An
estimated one million oil palm seedlings are on
nurseries waiting to be planted.

11. Potential Oil Palm Investment Outcomes
Create over 90,000 workplaces within the investor
company operations
Create improved incomes for over 30,000 Liberian
smallholder/out grower families
Produce 1.0-1.5 million tons Crude Palm Oil (CPO)
per year
Company revenues of US$800-1,200 MM per year
Generate substantial tax revenues and financing for
an oil palm development fund

12. National Level Recommendations
 Create a national Sustainable Palm Oil Working Group with
support from local RSPO members (ie., FFI, CI, Sime Darby,
Equatorial)
 Mobilize government, private sector and NGO/civil society
participation in the WG to address land use planning,
biodiversity/GHG conservation, smallholder integration and
other key issues.
 Develop a National Interpretation (NI) of the RSPO Principles
and Criteria (P & C) in cooperation with the Ghana NIWG to
enable certification and CSPO marketing.
 Support the Liberia Oil Palm Sector Strategy with government
(MOA, EPA, FDA, and IBL) support and private sector
leadership (OPAL, domestic companies, and MNCs)

13. Photos of the Oil Palm study tour to Indonesia
and Ghana

14. LIBERIA OIL PALM ADVISORY WORKING GROUP
(LOPAWG)

15. MEMBERS SO FAR
• Government
– MOA
– FDA
– EPA
• Civil Societies
– INGOS (FFI, CI, IUCN…)
– NGOS (AACC, Green Consulting…
• PRIVATE SECTORS
– OIL PALM COMPANIES
• SIME DARBY
• GOLDEN VEROLEUM
• EQUATORIAL OIL PALM
– Investors
• IFC
• Solidaridad

16. PHOTOS

21. CONCLUSIONS
Palm oil industry expansion in Liberia brings major potential
economic benefits in the form of revenues, employment,
and investments, but the threat of forest conversion and
biodiversity losses requires strong cooperation between,
industry and NGOs.
Toward this end, Liberia has significant potential in
promoting sustainable practices and selling higher value
certified products since all the companies with established
concessions are members of the international Roundtable
on Sustainable Palm Oil(RSPO).

22. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION

23. symposium
AT THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON
SESSION IV: THE ROLE OF PRODUCER
GOVERNMENTS
Chair: Abraham Baffoe
ProForest
Speakers:
Suer Suryadi, Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia
Dolly Priatna, ZSL Indonesia Country Co-coordinator
Chea Garley, Ministry of Agriculture, Liberia