TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME
REPUBLIC OF MALAWI
Project Title: Oil Palm Smallholder Development
Project Number: TCP/MLW/6612
Starting Date: July 1996
Completion Date: June 1998
Government Ministry responsible
for Project Execution: Ministry of Agriculture
FAO Contribution: US$ 207,600
The economy of Malawi is based on agriculture. Major industrial crops are tobacco, tea and sugarcane; coffee is a distant fourth crop. Although the large scale agriculture sector is still growing, small scale agriculture, which is mainly based on maize and groundnuts, is stagnant. The Government agricultural policy aims at food security through increased smallholder production by adoption of high yielding maize varieties and increased fertilizer use.
However, the Government also searches for possibilities of crop diversification and import substitution (70 million USD annually is used for food imports) not only to broaden the base of the economy but also to provide the small scale farmers with alternatives. Malawi has been importing about 2,500 tons of palm oil per year at a cost of 1.3 million dollars. This could be covered, on a conservative estimate, by the development of 1,000 Ha. Further expansion would substitute other vegetable oil inputs.
Palm oil production is considered to be crucial as Malawi is a net importer of animal fats and vegetable oils and edible oil consumption is low even in comparison with neighbouring countries. Vitamin A deficiency is a serious problem in Malawi and palm oil is a remedy; UNICEF is very interested in the promotion of red palm oil in Malawi as a way to combat this deficiency and protein/energy malnutrition. Follow up funding through IFAD for smallholder agricultural development is a strong possibility. Small scale oil palm processing will directly link the farmer to the added value achieved and this is a component of the project. The Malawian edaphoclimatic conditions in the project area determine that the oil palm there will be smallholder priority; there is sufficient area available in the region for the project without other crop displacement. The smallholders in the project area are traditional landowners, an important factor in sustainability.
There are no commercial oil palm plantations in the country. The present activity concentrates on extractivism from the wild dura palms and is cost inefficient. The project, at steady state, will bring a fourfold increase in income. Intercropping in the initial years of establishment will provide food crops and income for oil palm sustainability. The project will provide the base resource to fulfill 10% of Malawi's edible oil needs when it reaches a steady state production and will act as a catalyst for further expansion. The market is captive and, depending on the rate of the Governments expansion programme, is likely to remain so for another 10 years. The rate of import substitution will follow this expansion. Market research will only be needed when autosufficiency is in sight.
The oil palm is environment friendly compared to annual crops and provides a National asset to a country. It is not so susceptible to the fluctuations suffered by annuals as a result of climatic stress and produces throughout the year.
Most oil palm production, processing and marketing operations can be carried out by all adult family members. There are some which are particularly appropriate in enhancing and developing the role of women (should they have the time). These include all nursery operations, intercropping, maintenance, loose fruit collection, processing (particularly with the low person power reduced pitch spindle press), refining, down stream products, packaging, marketing and accounting.
Oil palm situation until September 1992
Oil palms, Elaeis guineensis, are found in Northern Malawi at Lake Malawi level, between Kaporo and the Songwe River. Another small population is found bordering the swamps west of Nkhata Bay.
The palms near Kaporo are of the wild, thick shelled dura fruit type. The palms yield well because ground water from Lake Malawi is available to the palms throughout the dry season. The bunches are only harvested until they are 6 7 metres above the ground, because the use of the backrope or the Malayan knife are unknown. With the introduction of the Malayan knife palms could be harvested from the ground for another 10 years extending the utilization of the existing resource. Many palms could return to production at short notice.
The palm oil extraction is at present 5 6% oil to bunch using simple household techniques. This could be improved at short notice to 8 9% oil to bunch (40 50% increase in recovery) by introducing better small scale technology, through training in better boiling and pounding techniques, and the introduction of small scale portable spindle and hydraulic presses.
Altitude adapted hybrid (tenera) oil palm plant material is now available in Costa Rica. These hybrids will have 20 22% oil to bunch extraction. Given the same growing conditions, introduction of the improved plant material and better processing techniques will lead to about a fourfold increase in oil production as compared with the present situation.
Hybrid seed introduction and training in nursery techniques and field planting are required.
The areas suitable for oil palm cultivation have to be demarcated to avoid any oil palm plantings in areas with a too low ground water table as rain fed oil palm cultivation is not feasible, hence the smallholder component.
A considerable reduction in vegetable oil imports can be realized through improving and expanding oil palm cultivation in a relatively short time, as the modern hybrids are in production 2.5 3 years after field planting.
Oil palm development in the Kaporo area will serve exclusively small holder producers in view of the scattered nature of suitable land.
Oil palm situation after September 1992
Dr. G.KS. Nyrenda, Chief Agricultural Research Officer, requested the Senior Officer, Industrial Crops, FAO during his visit to Malawi in September 1992, to formulate a project document to develop additional industrial crops. A project document was provided on 24 September 1992 through the FAO Representative to the Government of Malawi.
Since that time, a number of actions were taken on the Regular Programme account of the Crop and Grassland Service, AGP, FAO.
1. In April 1993, 2,000 germinated oil palm seeds of a cold tolerant variety were purchased in Costa Rica. The seedlings were raised in a polybag nursery by the Karonga Rural Development Project. The seedlings were issued to small holders between December 1994 and February 1995.
A second batch of 2,000 cold tolerant, germinated hybrid seed was imported from Costa Rica in January 1995 for field planting in 1996.
2. The Malayan knife was introduced and its use demonstrated on old palms.
3. A manually operated hydraulic press was introduced in September 1994. Improved technology was taught and led instantly to a 50% higher oil recovery as expected in 1992.
4. A field day was organized to teach farmers field planting, harvesting with the Malayan knife, and improved processing techniques.
5. Several Malawian companies have expressed interest in 1995 to diversify in oil palms.
The stage is now set for a larger scale oil palm small holder development in Northern Malawi, in the Kaporo area, and to advise companies in Southern Malawi.
The objective of the assistance is to provide crop diversification to serve import substitution, to broaden the agricultural export base in the long term and to develop small holder agriculture in palm oil production initially for internal use.
Output 1 (Integrated oil palm farming in the existing farming system)
Activities
1. Teach small holders to grow their own oil palm nursery of 100 200 palms to reduce seedling cost and ensure timely planting with the first rains.
2. Teach and show farmers different temporary and permanent oil palm intercropping systems with their traditional food crops.
3. Teach and show farmers how to select land suitable for oil palms.
4. Teach and show farmers plant nutrient recycling techniques and / or fertilizer use in oil palms.
Output 2 (Improved oil palm harvesting and maintenance techniques)
Activities
1. Introduce the appropriate tools for weeding and slashing.
2. Introduce and demonstrate the oil palm harvesting tools for young and old palms (chisels and Malayan knives of various shapes and sizes).
3. Promote the local production of harvesting tools in blacksmiths' workshops.
4. Introduce bunch transport by means of using a pole and 2 baskets.
Output 3 (Improved oil palm processing techniques)
Activities
1. Introduce the narrow pitch, women friendly, low cost spindle press.
2. Introduce the motorized horizontal digester.
3. Train farmers to produce palm oil of international standards on their farms (less than 5% FFA, 0.1% water and 0.01% dirt).
4. Provide technical drawings to engineering workshops to produce locally the spindle press, hydraulic press and motorized digester (400 kg bunch equivalent/hr).
5. Establish one complete demonstration (teaching) unit for oil palm bunch processing with a capacity of 400 kg bunch/hr.
Output 4 (Soap production for local use)
Activities
1. Teach women in the project area to produce good quality laundry soap for local sale from low grade palm oil.
2. Install two units for laundry soap making for 100 kg soap per day and per unit.
Output 5 (The organizational structure for the oil palm small holder industry established in the Kaporo area)
Activities
1. Establish a Kaporo Oil Palm Smallholder Production, Processing and Marketing Society.
2. Train executives of the Society in Management.
3. Transfer all property rights of processing equipment and tools obtained under the project to the Society.
4. Provide the Society with a grant of US$ 10,000 as starting capital to facilitate importation of germinated seed, purchase of nursery polybags, tools for fieldwork and processing, and to finance a small stock of palm oil. This expenditure to be completed within the project life.
Personnel
International consultants
1.5 pm: Oil palm agronomist in 2 missions of 3 weeks.
2.0 pm: Oil palm processing consultant specialized in small scale processing at 200400 kg bunch/hr, 2 missions.
1.0 pm: Soap Production consultant
1.0 pm: FAO backstopping missions, 2 missions of 2 weeks; 1 AGPC to cover all aspects related to production and 1 AGSI for processing.
National consultants
2.0 pm: Engineer to assist in production of processing equipment in Malawi and establishment of processing unit.
2.0 pm: Agronomist/Soil Scientist to identify land suitable for oil palm cultivation
1.0 pm: Consultancy for the establishment of the Kaporo Oil Palm Smallholder Production, Processing and Marketing Society.
In country travel
General operating expenses
Direct operating expenses
Materials. supplies and equipment
Training
2.0 pm: Home economics teacher to study oil palm based dishes and their preparation through the Technoserve organization, Accra, Ghana. Preparation of a cookery book for oil palm based dishes adapted to Malawian taste and available ingredients.
1.0 pm: Study tour by an agronomist to The Directorate of Horticulture, Department of Agriculture, Shimoga District, Karnataka,India to observe the low cost basin irrigation systems for oil palms.
1.5 pm: Study tour to the ASD oil palm course, Coto Plantation, Costa Rica for 1 agronomist, who will later on be directly associated in oil palm development in Malawi for at least 5 years.
1.0 pm: Study tour by a processing engineer to the Oil Palm Research Institute, Kade, Ghana to study the technology of small scale palm oil processing.
V. REPORTING
The Plant Production Officer of the Subregional Office for East Africa will prepare the Terminal Statement. The national and international consultants will prepare technical reports covering their TORs.
The Government will grant facilities necessary for the successful implementation of the project. The Ministry of Agriculture will be responsible for the provision of office space and ground transport of the consultants and backstopping officer. The Government will also provide the services of the national personnel needed to ensure successful completion of the consultants' mission and take care of the timely appointment and release of trainees. The Ministry of Agriculture will issue, on time, import permits for germinated oil palm seeds and release these seeds within 24 hours after arrival in Lillongwe for nursery planting near Kaporo.