KDCC Bank to give fillip to oil palm cultivation

KARIMNAGAR: The Karimnagar District Cooperative Central Bank has come forward to give a fillip to the State government's proposed plans to encourage the farmers to take up crop diversification with a thrust on oil palm cultivation.

Accordingly, the Karimnagar DCCB and its Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) have decided to extend financial assistance liberally to the farmers to take up oil palm cultivation in the integrated Karimnagar district. Similarly, KDDCB and TSCAB chairman Konduru Ravinder Rao along with its vice chairman Pingili Ramesh, director S Swamy Reddy, MPP Vinitha Srinivas Reddy, PACS chairman Venkatramana Reddy, DCCB CEO N Satyanarayana and branch manager G Anitha inspected the oil palm nursery in Chigurumamdi mandal and interacted with DD horticulture Srinivas, Horticulture Officer Manjuvani and Lohia company representative Padmanabham and others. He enquired about the nurseries and time for its plantation, growth and crop yield and oil extraction process etc.

Speaking on the occasion, Ravinder Rao said that the State government has decided to encourage the farmers to diversify the cropping pattern to ensure a regular source of income. "We from the DCCB and PACS are ready to provide financial assistance for the farmers to take up oil palm cultivation at a low-interest rate, which they have to repay only after the start of harvesting of the crop after four years", he said.

Stating that the cultivation of oil palm crop would ensure a regular source of income as the crop would be harvested every fortnight, he said that the Lohia company was also making buy-back policy arrangements for the collection of the farm produce directly from the farmers and taking up oil extraction by making a tripartite agreement with the bank and farmers.

He said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had given an impetus to the agriculture and other allied sectors with the Kaleshswaram project, which ushered in the rapid expansion of irrigation facilities and an increase in agricultural production.

DCCB CEO N Satyanarayana Rao said that they have decided to provide a loan of Rs 55,000 per acre and the farmer's contribution would be Rs 10,000 to take up oil palm cultivation. 'There is no interest for the first four years of the loan and the farmer should repay the loan from the fifth year onwards when the crop starts harvesting', he said.

He also said that they have decided to launch awareness programmes to educate the farmers about the importance of taking up oil palm cultivation to reap riches with less investment.