Transferring Oil Palm Plantation Best Management Practices (BMP) from Southeast Asia to West Africa

The oil palm sector in West Africa is rapidly developing, yet its plantations are under-performing with yields as low as one-third of the optimum. In 2013, Best Management Practices (BMP) were implemented in oil palm plantations in Ghana, West Africa with the aim of identifying and implementing improved agronomic management practices. These practices meet site-specific needs, and increase opportunities for enhanced productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability. IPNI was involved in providing assistance in training, agronomic and economic data analysis, and planning for wider scale implementation of BMP at a commercial scale.

Parallel sets of comparable oil palm blocks, representative of a plantation, were selected at three plantations. Site-specific BMPs were introduced in one block, while standard estate practices were maintained in the other block, thus considered a control or reference block (REF). By the end of 2016, field conditions in the BMP blocks were more or less at a steady state. Compared to 2015, there was no increase in fruit yields in 2016. Average yields at BMP blocks remained at 19 t/ha compared to 15 t/ha in the REF blocks (a yield increase of 3.7 t/ha, or 24%). While field upkeep was good in most blocks, fertilizer recommendations were not given due to late submission of leaf/soil samples and most BMP blocks followed fertilizer recommendations given by the plantation.

The trials established in 2014 and 2015 continued to show good progress. Results of the fertilizer trial did not yet show significant treatment effects, however preliminary analysis showed that nitrogen and potassium are likely the most important limiting nutrients in Ghanaian oil palm plantations. In the irrigation trials, the effects of supplementary water applications were starting to show after about 12 months. By mid 2016, the irrigation+fertilizer treatment was the highest yielding (approximately 33 t/ha), indicating an important interaction between water and nutrients. The same treatment also resulted in a shorter flowering time, and a more even distribution of yield throughout the year. This change will positively impact mill capacity and annual labor management. Plantation staff continued to demonstrate strong technical knowledge on the implementation of BMPs at trial sites and adapting components of BMPs at a plantation scale. Results of the trials are expected to further increase knowledge on water and 4R nutrient management, particularly for marginal production areas and hilly landscapes in Ghana.