CSIR-OPRI is designated as the leader in lethal yellowing (LY) research in Africa by the Bureau for the Development of Research on Tropical Perennial Oil Crops (BUROTROP). The Institute has developed several cutting-edge technologies to manage the devastating lethal yellowing disease of coconut. These include the development of a tolerant hybrid to the disease in Ghana. An environmentally friendly and non-polluting cultural practice that slows down/contain the spread of LY in disease endemic areas. The technology helps to prolong the productive life of plantations in the face of Lethal Yellowing Disease.

Under the Institute’s oil palm programme, it has over 50 years of research experience in oil palm and has built the capacity and developed a cream of Research Scientists, Technologists and Technicians for consultancy and training in oil palm nursery, establishment and management in Ghana and in the rest of Africa. Its breeding division has produced high-yielding hybrid oil palm planting material with a yield potential of 22-26 tons per ha per year for farmers and large estates in Africa and for the Far East in Asia.
The local unimproved type yields 0.5-1.0 ton per ha per year. The “tenera” oil palm planting material certified by ISO 9001:15 is offered for sale through Ghana Sumatra Ltd based in the premises of the institute in Kusi near Kade in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

A significant boost to the coconut industry in Ghana is the introduction of Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). The Coconut Programme has been at the forefront of the development of the product and the transfer of the technology to coconut farming communities. Technologies to utilize by-products from village level processing of coconut which hitherto was a source of environmental pollution have also been developed to protect the environment and help farmers earn additional income.