If Nigeria is to compete successfully in future with other producers (Britain’s entry into the Commonwealth Market) some changes may be necessary in traditional methods of cultivation. At present: wild palms cultivated by small farmers and about 80% if all Nigerian palm oil extracted by hand; use of a hand press can increase the yield by half. Plantation yield is roughly double the yield of hand extraction while the fruit harvested from plantation trees has doubled in the past 10 years, so that the real yield is now about 4 times that of the wild palm. For some years the Govt of E. Nigeria, the centre of the oil palm-industry has been trying to improve methods of cultivation and extraction. Pioneer oil mills have been established, but many are working below capacity, the large increase of fruit not having taken place. Yet, the government offers now financial aid to owners for felling old trees and sowing properly spaced plantations of good seedlings.
