| The oil palm has been the most important of the three major cash crops in the southern region of Nigeria. During the period 1955-1964, exports of palm kernels and palm oil averaged over 33 million per year, about 21 percent of the value of Nigerian exports in this period. This compares with the value of cocoa exports of about 32 million and the value of exported rubber of about 10 million. The other major agricultural export is groundnuts (peanuts), grown in the North, which averaged 28 million in exports. During this approximately same period the marketing boards, the sole buyers of exported palm products, performed primarily the fiscal role of assembling funds to support development programs. With the introduction of new information on the... |
