Guinea: Driving RN1 – Palm Oil Plantations

Another cash crop in Guinea, especially in the Guinée Forestière region, are the palm plantations to harvest palm nuts for the extraction of palm oil. Almost all the palm oil produced is for domestic consumption as oil is a staple in local cuisine, is used to make soap and also for traditional medicine. Production is all manual, as is the farming. Unlike the rubber tree, the palm oil tree (Elaeis guineensis) is a tropical tree native to West Africa, including Guinea. The tree produces reddish-orange fruits, clustered in bunches weighing 10–25 kg (22–55 lb), Each fruit contains a fleshy outer layer (used for palm oil) and a hard kernel (used for palm kernel oil).