The Telangana Cabinet is busy incentivising farmers to choose oil palm plantation. The Cabinet, in its second consecutive meeting on July 14, decided to expand the acreage of oil palm to 8.09 hectares by the end of 2023.
At present, cultivation of oil palm is done in only 20,234 hectares in 4 or 5 districts of Telangana. The state is encouraging the plantation of this crop in 24 districts of the state.
Subsidy by the state government
The cabinet will provide an investment subsidy of Rs. 26,000 per acre in the first year of cultivation of oil palm crop; Rs. 5000 per acre in the second year and third year each.
Oil palm is a long gestation crop that demands heavy investments in the initial years. This is one of the major reasons why farmers do not cultivate oil palm, although it is regarded as a cash crop in the state. Yet, farmers are happy growing traditional crops.
Oil palm nurseries
The Cabinet has asked the Panchayat Raj, Forest Development Corporation, and Rural Development Departments to create oil palm nurseries so that the saplings are available to farmers easily.
The Cabinet also plans to create a team consisting of people’s representatives, ministers, and officials. This team will visit countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to study the best oil palm cultivation practices because these are the countries where this crop is grown in a widespread area.
The Cabinet has also directed officials to provide further financial incentives to various oil palm processing units. This will be done through Telangana Special Food Processing zones and Telangana State Industrial Development and Entrepreneur Advancement.
About oil palm
Oil palm is grown mostly in the tropical countries. The oil palm tree produces oil, which is chiefly used for cooking, usually in the developing countries. The oil is also used in food products and in the manufacturing of cosmetics, detergents, and likewise. To some extent, oil of palm tree is being used as biofuel.
Just as Telangana gears up to increase its oil palm production area, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in line with his “Atmanirbhar Bharat” had appealed to the farmers of the Northeast last year to focus on oil palm trees.
Read the story here: https://krishijagran.com/agriculture-world/pm-emphasizes-shifting-focus-towards-palm-cultivation/
