The leadership of the Tree Crops Development Authority, TCDA, led by the Chief Executive Officer Dr. Andy Osei Okrah, has paid a courtesy visit to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Oil Palm Research Institute (CSIR-OPRI) to assess the institution’s operational readiness and capacity to support Government’s oil palm expansion agenda under the National Policy on Integrated Oil Palm Development (2026–2032).
The national policy, announced as part of the 2026 Budget, seeks to transform Ghana’s oil palm industry through the establishment of 100,000 hectares of new oil palm plantations nationwide. The initiative is backed by a proposed $500 million financing facility and is projected to create between 250,000 and 500,000 direct and indirect jobs across the oil palm value chain.
As part of the implementation framework, the Tree Crops Development Authority will regulate the project to ensure quality standards, sustainability, and compliance throughout the sector, while CSIR-OPRI is expected to play a critical role in supplying certified and high-yielding planting materials for nationwide exercise.
During the visit, Dr. Andy Osei Okrah was received by Dr. Isaac Danso, Director and Principal Research Scientist at CSIR-OPRI, who led the TCDA delegation on a tour of the institute’s nursery and operational facilities. The delegation was taken through the various stages of seed germination, seedling development, nursery management, and quality assurance systems being deployed to support the national project. Management of CSIR-OPRI assured the TCDA CEO of the availability of over five million oil palm seedlings to meet the increasing demand expected under the Government initiative.
Dr. Andy Osei Okrah commended the institute for the impressive work being undertaken to expand production capacity and strengthen Ghana’s oil palm sector. He noted that the readiness demonstrated by CSIR-OPRI is a strong indication that Government’s oil palm plantation initiative is on course for successful implementation.
He further reaffirmed that H.E. John Dramani Mahama’s vision to establish 100,000 hectares of oil palm plantations remains a transformative intervention that will drive agribusiness growth, industrialization, export expansion, and sustainable job creation across the country.
According to the TCDA CEO, the collaboration between the Tree Crops Development Authority and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Oil Palm Research Institute demonstrates Government’s commitment to building a resilient and globally competitive oil palm industry anchored on research, regulation, quality assurance, and sustainability.
