The Ghana Oil Palm Development Company Limited (GOPDC) plans to diversify their operational strategies and include large-scale commercial rubber cultivation and processing. GOPDC manages Ghana’s largest oil palm plantation and is the country’s leading producer of crude palm oil.
The company is currently building a state-of the art rubber processing factory with capacity to process about 15,000 metric tonnes of dry rubber per annum by 2020 during the first phase of its production with an expectation to increase the capacity to 20,000 metric tonnes by 2025.
The total investment planned for this landmark project is estimated to be over US$ 50 million with US$15million being channelled into the establishment of the factory for the remaining US$35 million to be directed towards ensuring sustainable supply of seedlings, planting and appropriate out grower scheme.
The entire rubber cultivation programme of Nucleus and out grower scheme will benefit over 20,000 indigenes in the Kwaebibirem district and its surrounding communities within the next four years. The Factory is expected to provide permanent employment to about 650 people in the area, 150 factory staff and 500 agricultural workers.
GertVandersmissen, Acting Managing Director of GOPDC, confirmed in an exclusive interview after a tour of the plantation that the company’s full entry and participation into the rubber production industry’s downstream sector by 2020 could help harness the country’s considerable potential in the cash crop’s cultivation and increase employment generation for the rural communities as well as provide source of income for the rural dwellers.
This could help to improve the livelihoods of the village communities and help to stimulate both the economic and social development of the rural areas.
As part of the company’s entry strategy, it has commenced its plantation operation with the planting of approximately 1,000 hectares of rubber trees in the uplands within its existing oil palm plantation. By 2020, the company hopes to plant over 10,000 hectares of rubber trees with 3,000 from its own concession and 7,000 trees from out grower farm scheme in the area. There will be about 3,500 farms for the out- grower scheme to aid the supply to feed the factory.
It is currently, investing in pilot farms which would involve the selection of farms, pegging, planting among others, this is being done along educating and assuring farmers of the viability of rubber farming as a full time venture.
“We have started with out-grower with 50 hectares and next year will increase to 150 hectares. The first phase is pilot farms and after we will train farmers how to tap the trees. That is the most essential part of the job. If you do it wrongly you cannot exploit your trees for the next 30 years. We will train about 3500 farmers to become specialized tappers,” Vandersmissen said.
He explained that the first tapping from the commercial rubber plantation is projected for 2020 and that will be when trees have reached maturity with initial estimated output of about 15,000 tonnes per year.
Vandersmissen explained that the global prices of rubber promise of a considerable medium-to-long term benefits as the demand for the commodity continues to record substantial growth trends.
There are strong possibilities for the market according to Vandersmissen, and “that demand for the commodity is growing as rubber is still important. There is land shortage worldwide and a growing world population means demand is high”.
Source: News Ghana