Posted: Post Date – 07:56 PM, Sunday – November 13
(File photo) Nizamabad collector C Narayana Reddy is inspiring progressive farmers in the region to come forward to plant oil palm.
Hyderabad: Due to its wide range of applications and commercial value, the Nizamabad regional government is particularly concerned about oil palm cultivation in the region. The government plans to plant oil palm on about 57,000 acres of land in the area.
Nizamabad collector C Narayana Reddy is inspiring progressive farmers in the region to come forward to plant oil palm.
Most recently, with the help of officials from the district’s horticulture department, he ran a campaign for farmers to encourage large-scale planting of oil palm.
He explained to them that oil palm would give them higher incomes and lower labour requirements compared to rice, sugarcane, corn, tobacco and horticultural crops. It is also less susceptible to damage during extreme weather events, he added.
The collector further said that the state government will provide farmers engaged in oil palm cultivation with a subsidy of Rs 26,000 in the first year and Rs 5,000 in the second and third years.
He informed that market demand for oil palm is good and the district government is working hard to plant about 57,000 acres of oil palm in the district to boost production.
As of now, Telangana has about 61,000 (37,000 acres of which are growing) oil palms planted in Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Nalgonda and Suryapet districts.
According to horticultural department officials, the government plans to plant crops in Nirmal (33,520 hectares), Mahabubabad (28,164 hectares), Kamareddy (26,337 hectares), Warangal-Rural (23,118 hectares) and Nizamabad (22,218 hectares). Telangana has notified 26 districts to plant oil palm, 11 oil processors are in operation in the state and has set a target of 500,000 hectares planted in 2022-23,
According to a survey conducted by the National Oilseeds and Oil Palm Mission, 246 of the state’s 563 rural Mandals have soil and weather conditions suitable for growing crops.
The major oil palm producing states in India are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Assam and Austria lisa. Andhra Pradesh ranks first in the country in terms of oil palm area and production. Telangana ranks 6th in the oil palm region.
The country’s oil palm plantation area is 885,000 acres, and crude palm oil production is 282,000 metric tons against the requirement of 8.755 million metric tons. About 900 to 1 million tons of crude palm oil and olein are imported from other countries. To achieve self-sufficiency under oil palm in India, an additional 7 million acres are required.
