Amb. Alphonsus Inyang, President of the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), has been elected Chairman of the General Assembly of the World Coalition of Oil Palm Smallholders (WCOPS).
Inyang disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
He said he was unanimously elected at the International Oil Palm Smallholders Forum in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, which attracted more than 400 delegates.
According to him, the General Assembly is the coalition’s highest decision-making organ, adding that his election would strengthen Nigeria’s position in the global oil palm sector.
Inyang was elected alongside Dr Gulat Manurung of Indonesia as President; Dr Napoleon Ningkos of Malaysia as Vice-President for Asia and Europe; and Mr Tuan Hassan, also of Malaysia, as Vice-President for Asia, Pacific and Oceania.
Other elected officials include Mr Allan of Honduras as Vice-President for the Americas; Dr Djono Albar Burhan of Indonesia as Executive Director; and Dr Paul Amaning of Ghana as Director of Digitalisation and Innovation.
Inyang, who is also WCOPS Vice-President for Africa and the Middle East and Nigeria’s focal person for the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC), said the coalition was established by CPOPC with support from the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia, among others.
He said WCOPS, with support from SOLIDARIDAD, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and global oil palm producers, was committed to promoting the interests of smallholders worldwide.
Inyang added that participants at the forum unanimously resolved to protect the rights and interests of more than 50 million oil palm smallholders globally.
He said the forum attracted representatives of CPOPC, RSPO, SOLIDARIDAD, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (IPOA), the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and other organisations.
Inyang, an international resource person on oil palm, pledged to ensure that Africa’s interests were adequately represented in the coalition.
