Telangana begins work on oil palm plan

Telangana, which is on a drive to promote oil palm acreage, has decided to set up a committee to calculate the cost of production to grow the edible oil plantation and ways to support the farmers.

The State government has also begun talks with the State-level bankers to find avenues to support the oil palm farmers financially. Telangana’s Agriculture Minister, S Niranjan Reddy, and Agriculture Commissioner Janardhan Reddy held discussions with the State-Level Bankers’ Committee to discuss ways to promote the oil-rich crop.

The government has identified 8.14 lakh acres of land that is suitable for oil palm in the next four years.

The State presently grows the crop in only four districts, covering an area of 45,000 acres. Under the new plan, it now would be grown in 25 districts.

Govt to provide subsidy

The State estimates that about 1.38 lakh would be required to grow the plantation in one acre in a span of four years. The government would give a subsidy of ₹31,832 as part of the ₹4,800-crore plan to promote oil palm cultivation.

Besides meeting the edible requirements of the State, the Government sees a potential for the produce in the neigbhouring States. “While the State consumes about 3.66 lakh tonnes of palm oil, we are producing only 38,000 tonnes. To plug the gap, we need to grow the crop in at least 2.50 lakh acres,” said a senior official of the Agriculture Ministry.

With the recent addition of irrigation facilities, the State is planning to promote oil palm as an alternative to the paddy, which is grown in 54 lakh acres in the kharif season alone.

The factories are expected to enter into agreements with the Horticultural Department.