PALMCI trains Ivorian growers and pre-finances their inputs
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Aip
Ivory Coast’s Agriculture Minister Bruno Nabagné Koné praised PALMCI’s support for oil palm growers, particularly through training and pre-financing inputs. Ivory Coast produces more than two million tonnes of palm fruit bunches and over 500,000 tonnes of refined oil, he said at Growers’ Day in San Pedro, according to AIP.
Ivory Coast’s Agriculture Minister Bruno Nabagné Koné praised PALMCI, a subsidiary of the SIFCA group, for its efforts to train growers and facilitate their access to inputs on Saturday 24 October in San Pedro, according to the Ivorian Press Agency (AIP). He was speaking at the closing of the 10th anniversary of Growers’ Day.
In 2020, 942 growers received support after training at field schools, the minister said. PALMCI also pre-finances inputs, whose cost producers repay gradually from their deliveries.
Ivory Coast produces more than two million tonnes of palm fruit bunches and more than 500,000 tonnes of refined oil. Nearly 100 billion CFA francs are distributed each year to communities, particularly growers and other players in the sector, Bruno Koné recalled.
The minister called for sustainably improving growers’ incomes and living conditions to be made the main measure of the sector’s success. He also cited the quality of bunches, regular supplies, transparent weighing and on-time payments among the commitments expected of producers and processors. These remarks follow Bruno Koné’s call to improve oil palm growers’ incomes, reported on 25 October.
