{"id":707,"date":"2020-11-19T01:25:55","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T01:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cifor.org\/gml\/?p=707"},"modified":"2020-11-19T15:17:52","modified_gmt":"2020-11-19T15:17:52","slug":"postcards-from-the-field-increasing-the-profitability-of-small-scale-oil-palm-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cifor.org\/gml\/postcards-from-the-field-increasing-the-profitability-of-small-scale-oil-palm-production\/","title":{"rendered":"Postcards from the field: Increasing the profitability of small-scale oil palm production"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Margaret Arwari<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 November 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo: Paul Anartey in an oil palm farm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Paul Anartey is a 26-year-old MPhil student in agribusiness at the University of Ghana\u2019s College of the Basic and Applied Sciences. Born and raised in Fumbisi \u2013 a town in Ghana\u2019s Upper East Region, near the northern tip of the famous Mole National Park \u2013 he comes from a community of farmers. However, according to Anartey, his interest in agriculture only started during junior high school, when he took his first agricultural sciences\u2019 classes. \u201cI found agriculture so interesting that I decided to pursue an agriculture degree at university,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since October 2020, Anartey has been working as a field enumerator with the Forest and Horticultural Crops Research Centre (FOHCREC) of the University of Ghana. As Part of the project Governing Multifunctional Landscapes in sub-Saharan Africa<\/a> (GML), funded by the European Union and coordinated by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), his assignment consists of interviewing small-scale oil palm farmers and finding how to increase the profitability of oil palm production by small-scale farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul\u2019s MPhil research is being carried out in  Kwaebibirem Municipality, an important palm oil production site in the Eastern Region of Ghana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo: Paul Anartey interviewing an oil palm farmer in his farm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am learning so many things from the farmers,\u201d said Anartey. \u201cFor instance, seasonal price fluctuations have a significant effect on farmers\u2019 gross margins.\u201d According to Anartey, in the lean oil palm seasons, farmers get good prices, about 550 Ghana cedis ($94 USD) per tonne of their produce. But farmers\u2019 gross margins are not good during the peak\/high seasons because they get low prices of about 350 Ghana cedis ($60 USD) per tonne, even when they try to negotiate with the buyers. \u201cTo counter this issue, farmers practice value addition,\u201d explained Anartey. \u201cThey process some fresh fruit bunches of oil palm in the high seasons, and sell the crude palm oil in the lean seasons, so they fetch better prices \u2013 this enhances the farmers profitability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Anartey acknowledges, small-scale farmers face a myriad of challenges. \u201cFor example, farmers experience low oil palm yields because they use minimal inputs and crop maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Paul Anartey conducts a plot survey with the oil palm farmer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Paul is keen to continue studying and helping farmers solve problems in the agriculture field, specially to produce deforestation-free commodities. \u201cMy professional goal is to become an agribusiness expert and provide consulting services to small-scale farmers and other agribusinesses based on sound agricultural research,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

aul Anartey is a 26-year-old MPhil student in agribusiness at the University of Ghana\u2019s College of the Basic and Applied Sciences. Born and raised in Fumbisi \u2013 a town in Ghana\u2019s Upper East Region, near the northern tip of the famous Mole National Park \u2013 he comes from a community of farmers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":708,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.cifor.org\/gml\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/11\/Paul-Anartey-01.jpg","yoast_head":"\r\nPostcards from the field: Increasing the profitability of small-scale oil palm production - Governing Multifunctional Landscapes<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Postcards from the field: Increasing the profitability of small-scale oil palm production - Governing Multifunctional Landscapes\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"aul Anartey is a 26-year-old MPhil student in agribusiness at the University of Ghana\u2019s College of the Basic and Applied Sciences. 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