Andhra Pradesh: Agriculture Minister Launches New Hybrid Oil Palm Varieties

The cultivation of the oil palm variety CALIX Q6 (SIME DARBY) was launched on Wednesday in Nallajerla in the East Godavari district by Agriculture Minister K. Govardhan Reddy. The variety was developed by Malaysian scientists and introduced by Indian-based 3F Oil Palm Private Limited.

"We always try to continuously deploy the best products and services that help with our motto 'Maximizing yields for our farmers with minimum maintenance hassles'," said Sanjay Goenka, CEO, and MD of 3F Oil Palm Limited. 

"By investing around Rs 30 cr in this effort, we will be able to support roughly 4000 farming households annually by giving 10 lakh plants to Andhra Pradesh farmers. The hybrid variants launched will enhance productivity by about 20-30%, thereby helping increase farmer income significantly.”

Authorities from 3F Oil Palm Limited stated that the new variety would produce at a 20-30% higher rate than the other varieties (cultivated in Andhra Pradesh) and would reach yield in less than 24 months. On Wednesday, Mr. Govardhan Reddy also launched a supply of other nine oil palm varieties to the farmers.

To help farmers and the oil palm industry, 3F Oil Palm procured the following seed varieties from various reputed seed manufacturers across the world:

SIME DARBY (Malaysia)

Calyx 600

Calyx Q6 (First of its kind in India)

CIRAD Palm Elit (France, Thailand)

Standard

3 Way Cross (First of its kind in India)

ASD (Costa Rica)

Spring

Themba

 FGV (Malaysia)

ML 161

3 Way Cross (First of its kind in India)

According to the Agricultural minister of Andhra Pradesh Shri Kakani Govardhan Reddy, "Every farmer hopes to reap good yields from what he sows.  In the present times, oil palm’s value in yielding cannot be denied. When this is not the case, the government should step in and purchase the crop to ensure that the Fair Price is fixed and protect the farmers from any losses. It has been noted that there are Rs. 4000 crores in losses for every Rs. 2000 crores in yields. It is necessary to resolve this issue. In addition to paddy, the government has been stepping in and helping the farmers over the past few years when it comes to the production of maize, turmeric, and bajra.”