The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Oil Palm Research Institute (CSIR-OPRI) has thrown its full support behind the government’s plan to develop 100,000 hectares of oil-palm plantations under the revised 2026 budget, describing the initiative as timely and crucial for economic diversification.
Addressing journalists, Dr Isaac Danso, Director and Principal Research Scientist at CSIR-OPRI, said the institute’s endorsement is grounded in four key national goals, including reducing over-reliance on cocoa, gold and timber exports, expanding revenue sources, creating new economic pillars and integrating rural communities more meaningfully into national development. “These goals align directly with the country’s development agenda,” he said.
Dr Danso stressed that oil palm remains one of the country’s most underutilised economic crops despite its strong industrial potential. He warned, however, that the success of the 100,000-hectare plan hinges on overcoming systemic challenges that have long constrained the sector.
He identified six major obstacles, including the widespread use of uncertified planting material, poor agronomic practices, limited processing capacity, inadequate access to credit, insufficient funding for research and low value-addition. Many producers, he noted, continue to export crude palm oil (CPO) without further processing, losing significant income opportunities.
CSIR-OPRI has outlined a detailed contribution plan to support the government’s ambition. According to Dr Danso, the institute can supply up to one million high-yielding hybrid seedlings annually, with potential yields of 25 tonnes per hectare per year and early maturity of 2.5 years. Its subsidiary, Ghana Sumatra Ltd., can also provide about 12 million pre-germinated seed-nuts yearly. He emphasised that the entire 100,000-hectare programme would require 15 million seedlings, all of which can be sourced locally from Kusi in the Eastern Region.
The institute will also supervise industrial nursery operators, assist with site selection, train farmers, form farmer associations, and deliver extension services. In addition, it plans to provide capacity-building for agricultural officers, conduct feasibility studies for prospective investors and support technology adoption across the sector.
To maximise the programme’s success, CSIR-OPRI has urged government to prioritise a nucleus-estate approach, with 90 per cent of cultivation led by large-scale estates and the remaining 10 per cent reserved for smallholder schemes, mirroring successful models in Indonesia and Malaysia. It also recommends that investors be required to source certified seed-nuts locally and rely on CSIR-OPRI’s climate-suitability map to guide site selection. Strict compliance with regulatory standards across the value chain was also stressed as essential.
Officials at the briefing noted that if these recommendations are followed, the initiative could transform the rural economy, create thousands of jobs and expand Ghana’s export portfolio. With government’s financing mechanism aligned with CSIR-OPRI’s technical expertise and clear pathway for implementation, Dr Danso described the 100,000-hectare target as “increasingly attainable.”