Farmers urged to take up oil palm cultivation in Nizamabad

Nizamabad collector C Narayana Reddy is motivating progressive farmers of the district to come forward to take up oil palm cultivation.

Hyderabad: In the wake of its vast applications and commercial value , the Nizamabad district administration has put special focus on oil palm cultivation in the district. The administration has plans to take up oil palm cultivation in about 57,000 acres in the district.

Nizamabad collector C Narayana Reddy is motivating progressive farmers of the district to come forward to take up oil palm cultivation.

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Recently, he held an awareness programme for farmers with the help of horticulture department officials in the district to encourage farmers to take up oil palm cultivation on a large scale.

He explained to them that oil palm would give them higher income and lower labour needs than paddy, sugarcane, maize, tobacco and horticultural crops. It is also less prone to damage during extreme weather events, he added.

The collector further stated that the state government would provide a subsidy of Rs 26,000 in the first year and Rs 5,000 in the second and third years, to those farmers who undertake oil palm cultivation.

He informed that there is a good demand for oil palm in the market and that the district administration was making efforts to bring about 57,000 acres under cultivation in the district to boost production.

As of now, about 61000 (Of which 37000 acres is under bearing age) is under oil palm cultivation in Telangana, spread across the districts of Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Nalgonda and Suryapet.

According to horticulture department officials, the government has plans to take up plantation crop in Nirmal (33,520 ha), Mahabubabad (28,164 ha), Kamareddy (26,337 ha), Warangal-Rural (23,118 ha) and Nizamabad (22,218 ha). Telangana has notified 26 districts for oil palm cultivation and 11 oil processors are operating in the state and the targets of 5 lakh hectares’ plantation have been set for year 2022-23,

According to the survey conducted by the National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm has also identified that soil and weather conditions were suitable for the plantation crop in 246 out of 563 rural mandals in the State.

The major oil palm producing states in India are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Assam and Orissa. Andhra Pradesh ranks number one in area and production of oil palm in the country. Telangana stands 6th in oil palm area.

The area under oil palm cultivation in the country is 8.85lakh acres, with Crude Palm Oil production of 2.82 lakh MTs against the requirement of 87.55 lakh MT. About 90 to 100 lakh MTs of Crude Palm Oil and Olein is being imported from other countries. To attain self-sufficiency under Oil palm in India, an additional area of 70 lakh acres is required.