Oil palm has historically played an important role in Benin and oil palm plantations, as opposed to naturally occurring palm groves, were established in the 19th century to meet increasingly greater demand for palm oil from Western countries, primarily to supply their soap factories.
By this time, oil palm was grown on an estimated 500,000 hectares of land in Benin, and the processing of oil palm products was entirely manual, carried out by women small-scale producers.
According to a study published in 2007, “Plans for the development of an agrofuel industry in Benin have the strong backing of the government, and make up a key part of the government’s Agricultural Revival Programme for economic development.”
