Hyderabad: Massive plan to boost oil palm cultivation

Rajendranagar: In order to make the Telangana state completely self-reliant in producing edible oil, the departments of agriculture and horticulture are promoting oil palm cultivation in vast areas across the State. They have already kicked off a pilot project in some district.

Director of Horticulture and Sericulture L Venkatram Reddy said both the departments have prepared and presented before the government a detailed plan to promote oil palm cultivation with an outlay of Rs 4,800 crore for the year 2021-22. "The plan includes Rs 2,000 crore subsidies to encourage farmers to take up oil palm cultivation as a better alternative to paddy cultivation. As a pilot basis, we have taken up cultivation in some of the districts like Mahboobabad and Jogulamba Gadwal districts," informed the Director.

"We have already registered a bountiful production in the field of granary such as paddy, wheat, sugar and a few other grains, but are lagging behind in producing millets and other pulses to a level of satisfaction, while facing acute shortage in producing edible oils in the country," Reddy explained the current scenario in the country. To address the issue on priority basis, he said, "The Government of India and Telangana took up a prestigious move together to make the country self-reliant in producing edible oils, and to realise the same the palm oil cultivation has been taken up on pilot basis in the State."

Further elaborating on the first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, to reduce the gap between demand and scarcity, he said, "We have notified almost 3,29,665 hacters of land in 25 districts in the State to promote palm oil cultivation as a better alternative to paddy farming which is considered as rather costly way of farming these days."

The Central and the State governments have taken up a prestigious move together to make the country self-reliant in producing edible oils, and to realise the same the palm oil cultivation has been taken up on a pilot basis in the State. It is aimed at achieving self-reliance in edible oils in the country

- L Venkatram Reddy, Director of Horticulture