The Oil Palm Research Institute (OPRI) was established in 1964 as a division (Plant Breeding Oil Palm) of the Crops Research Instiute(CRI), of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to take over the functions of the defunct West African Institute for Oil Palm Research (WAIFOR).  It was upgraded to a centre and gained autonomy from the Crops Research Institute in 1979 and became a fully fledged Institute in 1988. The centre became fully fledged in 1988.

• To Carry out research on Oil Palm and Coconut
• To conduct sustainable and demand driven research aimed at providing scientific and technological support for the development of the entire oil palm and coconut industries in Ghana 
   

General Objectives 

• To improve breeding of oil palm and coconut
• Development of land use efficiency and intensification strategies to maximize yields and enhance yield potentials
• Development of integrated pest and disease management strategies
• Improvement of small-scale semi-mechanized methods of processing palm, kernel and coconut oils
• To commercialize the production of improved planting materials
• To commercialize research findings through consultancy and training
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• To carry out research on Oil Palm and Coconut
• To conduct sustainable and demand driven research aimed at providing scientific and technological support for the development of the entire oil palm and coconut industries.

Development of capabilities to generate appropriate marketable technologies for 

• Sustainable production of oil palm and coconut
• The efficient exploitation of the palm, kernel and coconut oils through downstream processing and biomass utilization
• The management wastes from the oil palm and coconut industries.