Deal #3463

Land area

Intended size

8 800 ha

Size under contract (leased or purchased area)

[2010, current] 8800 ha

Comment on land area

8800 hectare for company production and 6400ha for outgrower scheme. Another source mentions size is 8903,092 ha.

Intention of investment

[2010, current] Agriculture unspecified (8800 ha)

Comment on intention of investment

The company is entitled to sell the carbon rights.

Nature of the deal

Lease

Comment on nature of the deal

Duration 25 years with an option for automatic extentsion for a futher ten years upon the company's request, granted that the company has kept its contractual obligations.

Negotiation status

[2010] Concluded (Oral Agreement)
[2011-03-04, current] Concluded (Contract signed)

Comment on negotiation status

The company won the bid for the plantation in 2010 and was authorised to begin production from 2010, however the contract was only signed in 2011. US$ 64 million dollar investment- US$ 48 million for the development of the company plantation and US$15 million for the outgrower plantation. Maryland Oil Palm Plantation operates a plantation of oil palms granted under a concession agreement signed on 4th March 2011

Implementation status

[1990] Project abandoned
[2010, current] Startup phase (no production)

Comment on implementation status

This plantation was formerly state owned (production commencement date is unknown). The concession area was previously owned and managed by the Decoris Oil Palm Company (DOPC), however, in 1990, as a result of the Liberia's civil war, production and development of the plantation was abandoned. Sifca is planting palm-oil seeds on 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of land in south-eastern Liberia (2013).

Leasing fees

Annual leasing fee

5

$

per ha

Comment on leasing fee

The company will pay US $5.00 per hectare for developed land in the concession area. The company is taxed US $1.00 per acre for undeveloped land and US $2.00 per acre of developed land. Data obtained from a formal source (contract) Investor was required to pay a once-off leasing fee of US$ 3100000 in 2011.

Contract farming

Yes

Not on leased / purchased (out-grower)

Yes

Not on leased area/farmers/households (out-grower)

[current] 6400 ha

Comment on contract farming

Purchase price shall be the export sales price, depending on the grade of produce. Outgrowers are crucial to MOPP’s concession with Liberia and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which sets the standards for the global industry. The concession agreement requires MOPP to buy outgrowers’ palm bunches at a set price and quality, among other things. The RSPO mandates its members to include smallholders in their development plans. Is one of seven principles the watchdog operates on. MOPP is Owned by the SIFCA Group, an Ivory Coast-based firm owned by the Singaporean multinational Wilmar International, a member of the RSPO.