Development of sustainable products from oil palm towards enhancing national food security: A review

Abstract

Increasing threat insecurity of food production in Nigeria is perceived in almost all parts and areas of the national food production. Food insecurity seems to be a global challenge that has a lot to do with surge in energy demand, population growth, climate change and competition for land, food and water. The rural settlements are more prone to irregular food supply, malnutrition, and low quality foods, high cost of food items and even widespread lack of food. This has created a serious concern towards national food security. However, the availability of agricultural and food products could mitigate this menace. So, in an attempt to arrest this situation, this paper presents a review of the development of some sustainable products from oil palm towards enhancing national food security. In a nutshell, it highlights the overview of oil palm tree, its classification, current and future mechanization, processing of oil palm fruit from the bunch to crude palm kernel oil extraction and other by-products, application of the products; and production capacity of palm oil from 2010 to 2020 in Nigeria. Besides, nutritional composition of palm oil and palm kernel oil, rationale for the use of oil palm and its derivatives in the development of sustainable food and allied products are also discussed. Furthermore, concept of sustainable palm oil, some food products made from palm oil and its functional attributes; and the development of some selected food products with palm oil as one of the major ingredients are also highlighted.