Location: Palm oil Producing center, Ila Road, Obaagun, Osun State, Nigeria.
Date: 20 December 2023
Interviewer: Mrs Oluwakemi Oyeniyi, YEDIS Marketing Team Member.
Respondents:
- Mr Kola Oseni, Chairman, Palm oil producers association, Obaagun.
- Mrs Taiwo Agbesinga, Vice Chairperson.Â
Translator: Mr Abass Opeyemi, YEDIS Youth Coordinating Team Member.
Question:- How many branches do you have here at Obaagun?
1st Respondent:- We have seven (7) units, namely Oseni, Demola, Oloore, Ekun, Igbo, Ilakun, Eku e.t.c
Question:- What can you say about the YEDIS Empowerment for Obaagun palm oil producers?
1st Respondent:- YEDIS did wonderfully well for this community by donating drums, funnels, sievers, kegs, and many more tools that can facilitate our productivity.
Question:- What about other branches? Do they also benefit from YEDIS intervention?
1st Respondent: We shared the gifted tools across seven (7) branches in our communities, with a population of over 3000.
Question:- Aside from the benefit of YEDIS, what other things do you want?
1st Respondent:- YEDIS has promised to give us more support, including boreholes, local palm oil extractors and other tools.
Question:- Before the intervention of YEDIS, what were the challenges you faced after the intervention of YEDIS?
1st Respondent:- The challenges we faced were many in terms of resources, such as money, equipment, etc., that we used to harvest crops and run the transformation process. We use cash and other resources; therefore, YEDIS should assist us in completing the job more efficiently. Those who have yet to benefit from the intervention can also help because there were approximately three thousand (3000) palm oil producers in our community at the first visit of YEDIS, and the resources shared now are not enough, so we need more.
Question:- I would like to ask about the amount paid to YEDIS for all this equipment before bringing them to your community.
1st Respondent:- We did not give any money to YEDIS. YEDIS gave the items to us free of charge, so we did not pay.
Question:- In one word, what can you say about YEDIS?
2nd Respondent: Before the intervention of YEDIS, we usually fought each other based on the limited resources (equipment) available, but after the intervention of YEDIS, everybody now runs their production independently without fighting each other for tools.
Question:- What else do you want from YEDIS?
2nd Respondent:- We need boreholes; we have been seriously in need of adequate clean water for a long time; during the dry season, we faced a lot of challenges in getting sufficient water for our production, and the dwell water we have is dry, so the challenges we face in getting water is too much.
Question: Do you engage youth in the palm oil business? If yes, what is their contribution and interest?
2nd Respondent: Before, adults mostly participated in the palm oil processing business, but currently, the youth show more interest and participate outstandingly.
Compiled and Edited by Ms. Rafiat Akinwumi Olaore, YEDIS Female Youth Leader.
Learn more about YEDIS at https://yedis.org