INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS PALM OIL AND ITS SCORECARD?
It’s an edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of oil palm trees, the scientific name is Elaeis guineensis. Two types of oil can be produced; crude palm oil comes from squeezing the fleshy fruit, and palm kernel oil which comes from crushing the kernel, or the stone in the middle of the fruit.
Oil palm trees are native to Africa but were brought to South-East Asia just over 100 years ago as an ornamental tree crop. Now, Indonesia and Malaysia make up over 85% of global supply but there are 42 other countries that also produce palm oil. (is where all other African producing nation is) With Nigeria been the largest exporter of palm oil as in the early 50's and 60's.

1. WHAT PRODUCTS IS IT IN?
Palm oil is in nearly everything – it’s in close to 50% of the packaged products we find in supermarkets, everything from pizza, doughnuts and chocolate, to deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste and lipstick. It’s also used in animal feed and as a biofuel in many parts of the world.

2. WHY IS PALM OIL EVERYWHERE?
Palm oil is an extremely versatile oil that has many different properties and functions which makes it so useful and so widely used. It is semi-solid at room temperature so can keep spreads spreadable; it is resistant to oxidation and so can give products a longer shelf-life; it’s stable at high temperatures and so helps to give fried products a crispy and crunchy texture; palm oil should be odourless and not be altering the smell of food products.

3. WHY PALM OIL IS A BAD?
Oil Palm can be used as a biodiesel fuel but bad compare to other vegetable oils and other forms of addictive because it actually increases greenhouse emissions. It is estimated that the use of palm oil in Southeast Asian as a feedstock for biodiesel will actually increase greenhouse gas emissions by at least 2 to 8 times more than those saved by using it as a fuel, compared to petroleum-based diesel. Studies as likewise shown that oil palm production and farming is said to have been responsible for about 8% of the world's deforestation between 1990 and 2008.

4. WHY DON’T WE JUST SWITCH TO AN ALTERNATIVE VEGETABLE OIL?
Palm oil is an incredibly efficient crop, producing more oil per land area than any other equivalent vegetable oil crop. Globally, palm oil supplies 35% of the world’s vegetable oil demand on just 10% of the land. To get the same amount of alternative oils like soybean or coconut oil you would need anything between 4 and 10 times more land, which would just shift the problem to other parts of the world and threaten other habitats and species. Furthermore, palm oil is an important crop for the GDP of emerging economies and there are millions of smallholder farmers who depend on producing palm oil for their livelihood. Boycotting palm oil is not always the answer, but demanding more action to tackle the issues and go further and faster, is.

5. NIGERIA EFFORT TO OIL PALM?
In other region of the world sustainability as been effort of the government in the production of oil palm. For example in 2012 the UK Government recognised that they are part of the palm oil problem and could also be part of the solution. They set a commitment for 100% of the palm oil used in the UK to be from sustainable sources that don’t harm nature or people. Nigeria effort as been to increase production of more oil as the CBN governor noted in 2019 “that $500 million are spent on palm oil importation annually”.

IN CONCLUSION
With Sustainable West African Palm oil Programme (SWAPP) in Abuja. The issue of the palm oil problem has been said to be address according to Nigerian Institute of Oil Palm Research (NIFOR). By improved seedling, just that majority of the oil palm in the Nigeria Market making about 80 percent are all produced by the small holder processor in rural area, which make the question of how sustainable in our oil palm more crucial?

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