The investment by the Edo State government in creating a business-friendly environment is translating into huge returns for companies operating in the state with the Okomu Oil Plc announcing a staggering 206.2% rise in export sales between January and June 2024, resulting in ₦7.74 billion earning, in contrast to the ₦2.53 billion recorded in the same period in 2023. According to the company’s H1 2024 report, local sales rose by 76.7 percent in the first six months of the year from ₦38,07 billion to ₦67.27 billion. The state government has, in the last five years, prioritised investment in oil palm development through the Edo State Oil Palm Development Programme (ESOPP). This led to the injection of $3m (USD) by 10 investors who are developing over 70,000 hectares of land across the state. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Okomu Plc, Dr. Graham Hefer, in an interview, said the state government had invested in structures to expand the oil palm landscape in the state, which had made it easy for investors to do business. According to Hefer, “The structures that the government has brought into the agriculture sector have helped a lot; the manner in which the government is doing business has improved. We find a lot more willingness from the government institutions to work with the companies; the reports, the tools, and the manner in which the government has put together various departments now are far more constructive.” The investors in the state who are exploring backward integration and export potentials from oil palm exports, include major Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) such as Flour Mills of Nigeria, (FMN) Dufil Prima Foods Limited; Bravag Limited; Green Hill Agricultural Products Limited, and Fayus Inc., among others. The government has said over time that its plan is to position companies in the state to earn foreign exchange to boost productivity and the state’s competitiveness.
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