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Oil Palm Best Management Practices in Ghana

Oil palm BMPs are an innovative approach to intensify yields in underperforming mature oil palm stands.

The oil palm sector in West Africa is developing extensively, yet plantation and small producers are performing well below their potential, with yields as low as one-third of the optimum. In order to improve oil palm yields and productivity in West Africa, IPNI has initiated a large-scale collaborative project with oil palm plantations and small holder farmers supported by Solidaridad West Africa across Ghana. The project aims to facilitate the effective use of production inputs, such as crop residues and mineral fertilizers, and to assist plantation staff and small holder farmers in the identification and implementation of improved agronomic techniques through the use of ‘Best Management Practices (BMP)’. The project is adapting lessons from a successful BMP program implemented by IPNI in SEA. Demonstration plots where BMPs are introduced were established in early 2013 at 3 participating plantations and 20 small holder farms, and will be monitored over a 5-year period in order to assess its impact on oil palm production systems, and to get an understanding of the yield potential and yield gaps across Ghana.

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Catena trial BOPP

In Ghana, the major climatic constraint is the prolonged dry season of 4-5 months, with mean annual water deficits up to 600 mm yr-1. Water deficits are partly controlled by a soil’s physical properti ...

Fertilizer trial Norpalm

In Ghana, little to no fertilizer is applied in oil palm plantations and small holder farms leading to depletion of soil fertility and low productivity. Development of improved fertilizer recommendati ...

Impact of Oil Palm Best Management Practices in Ghana

This is a report on the oil palm project activities and its early impacts on oil palm productivity in Ghana. The project has demonstrated substantial yield increases with introduction of BMPs and supp ...

Irrigation trial Norpalm

In Ghana, low fruit bunch yields are partly explained by poor climatic conditions, particularly suboptimal rainfall amount and distribution. It is estimated that each 100 mm increase in water deficit ...

Oil Palm Best Management Practices in Ghana

The oil palm sector in West Africa is developing extensively, yet plantation and small producers are performing well below their potential, with yields as low as one-third of the optimum. In order to ...

Oil Palm Project Overview

The Oil Palm (OP) project was initiated in 2012, during which time oil palm yields in Ghana were rapidly declining despite an immense increase of area under cultivation over the past 10 years and a la ...

Oil Palm Yield Intensification Ghana

IPNI project in Ghana is successfully supporting plantations and smallholder producers to increase yields through best management practices.