In a move that shows the promise of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s foresight in attracting investment into Edo State, the MD/CEO of Agro-Allied Resources and Processing Nigeria Limited (ARPN), Mr. Madhukar Khetan, has said its oil palm plantation in Ovia Northeast local council of Edo State will be matured for harvest in 2024.
He noted that the agro-allied company is establishing a modern state-of-the-art oil palm crushing mill which will be ready to commence operations by the same year.
The Managing Director expressed gratitude to Governor Godwin Obaseki for allocating 12,000 hectares of land for agricultural-related activities to the company and providing a conducive operating environment.
According to him, “ARPN commenced the development of its plantation in the year 2019 after paying crop compensation to 2,000 farmers and developing access roads leading to the site from the main Benin-Akure Road.
“The pre-nursery and main nursery were set up, where high-yielding varieties of oil palm seeds were sowed. The seedlings were transplanted into the main field after 15 months of growth in the nursery. These palms will be ready for harvest from the year 2024. During the same period, ARPN carried out additional planting directly in the main field with locally procured seedlings which will start yielding output from the year 2023.”
He continued; “ARPN is the first company in Nigeria to achieve planting at such a massive scale in a short span of 2 years.”
Khetan stated that the plantation has employed over 1,000 workers directly in various farming activities from neighbouring communities and even built housing for their accommodation.
