ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to utilize the current body of knowledge to increase our understanding of the considerations that should be guiding rural development policy. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) highlights the importance of rural development initiatives that promote safe and affordable housing, general business support and infrastructure investment. Palm oil production and marketing represent a rural economic development opportunity that has yet to be fully realized in rural Southeast Nigeria. A review of past and current Nigerian market conditions reveals why the potentials for economic renaissance associated with creating a palm oil farm-to-consumer supply chain have yet to emerge. The economic importance of processed palm oil has a long history and its value continues in the twenty-first century. Palm oil cultivation and production practices have sometimes been criticized as a source of negative environmental externalities. The negative externalities of palm oil output are far less of an environmental concern than the external costs associated with Nigeria's petroleum industry.
