Divisi
When to plant Oil palm in Liberia
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is a single-stemmed palm from the forests of West and Central Africa, and the highest-yielding oil crop in the world.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant (establish) | 28 Feb 2027 – 12 Sep 2027 opens in 22 weeks | 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 |
| Expected harvest | about 12.8 t/ha | about 15.7 t/ha |
| Work it takes | 77–175 days per hectare, by hand | |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 25 Apr 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Liberia leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.
Planting after 12 Sep 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Liberia
| Rain and temperature | 96% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 76% |
| The lie of the land | 45% |
For oil palm in Liberia, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 45%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.
The 2025 season in Liberia
| When the rains are expected | February 2025 to December 2025 |
|---|---|
| Rain in a typical year | About 2,150 mm in a typical farming district |
| Across its districts | From about 1,763 mm in the driest of 136 districts to about 4,684 mm in the wettest |
| This season's rain | Leaning dry — September and October look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early. |
| This season's heat | Hotter than usual — about +0.8 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can. |
| What that supports | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | 2 kinds of ground. The season below is one typical farming district's, not a figure for the whole of this area. |
| 96% | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 347 growing days · about 2,470 mm · February to December |
|---|---|
| 4% | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 365 growing days · about 2,780 mm · January to December |
last updated 18 September 2026 · from all 136 areas within it
What oil palm needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | well-drained loam or clay loam soil |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 4.5 and 6.0 |
| Spacing | 900 cm between rows, 900 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | potassium, nitrogen, magnesium and boron |
What it takes to grow oil palm in Liberia
| Planting material | About 143 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 96 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 29 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 134 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
| Hand work | 77–175 days per hectare, by hand |
These are the nutrients a oil palm crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Oil palm with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Liberia as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
Oil palm in nearby districts
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will oil palm grow well in Liberia?
Liberia rates as favourable for oil palm.
When should I plant oil palm in Liberia?
Typically 28 Feb 2027 to 12 Sep 2027, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Liberia, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
