Solidaridad West Africa signed a 4 year agreement with The Netherlands Embassy in Accra for the development of a Sustainable Oil Palm Program. The agreement with a value of € 12 million falls under the new policy of the Dutch Ministry of Development Cooperation, which focuses on food security.
Hans Perk, Solidaridad West Africa Director, is pleased with the agreement: “It is important that we invest in this sector to ensure the future of oil palm in this region, prevent poverty and the negative effects on the environment. It is also important in order to keep the palm oil affordable for the regional consumers. If the small and medium sized enterprises are able to produce more efficiently, major expansions; which often come with social exclusion and deforestation, won’t be necessary and that’s an important step.”
For the complete press release of Solidaridad, click here. According to Ivory Coast’s Labor Ministry Cargill Inc. intends to develop industrial palm-oil plantations and processing facilities in the country within five years. The investment might be as much as 380 million dollars. Cargill is a big cocoa exporter in Ivory Coast, which is the world’s largest cocoa producer.