Incentives for oil palm growers in Telangana

Government to provide Rs 26,000 per acre in first year, Rs 5,000 each in second and third years

Hyderabad: The State Cabinet, which met for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, has decided to provide attractive subsidies to encourage oil palm cultivation. The Cabinet has decided to provide a subsidy of Rs 26,000 per acre to oil palm farmers in the first year, Rs 5000 per acres each in second and third years as a crop investment incentive. The government is aiming to encourage farmers to cultivate oil palm in about 20 lakh acres by 2022-23.

According to a press release, the Cabinet presided by the Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, decided to set up oil palm nurseries with the help of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department along with the Forest Department and Telangana State Forest Development Corporation. The Cabinet has also directed the authorities to provide incentives to oil palm processing units as per the existing regulations through the Telangana State Industrial Development and Entrepreneur Advancement (TIDEA) and Telangana Special Food Processing Zones (TSFPZ).

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A team of Ministers, elected representatives and officials will be sent on a study tour to Costa Rica, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and other countries to learn more about the oil palm cultivation.

In yet another major decision to boost the agriculture sector and keeping the increasing paddy production in the State year after year, a Cabinet sub-committee will be formed to take steps for improving farm infrastructure and setting up new industrial units including processing units as well as increase crop storage capacity, milling and marketing among others. The Cabinet sub-committee headed by Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy, will have Ministers T Harish Rao, KT Rama Rao, Gangula Kamalakar, A Indrakaran Reddy, Puvvada Ajay Kumar, P Sabitha Indra Reddy, Vemula Prashanth Reddy and G Jagadish Reddy.

The Cabinet spent considerable time in discussing issues related to the Agriculture Department. Minister S Niranjan Reddy briefed the Cabinet on the progress made in the sector in the last one year including crop yields, increase in cultivation acreage, etc. The Cabinet also discussed the availability of seed, fertilizer and rainfall conditions in the wake of the ongoing Vaanakalam season.

The State Cabinet directed the officials to initiate immediate steps to enhance the storage capacity of godowns as well as focus on its marketing. It has also asked the Industries Department to take proactive measures to increase the milling capacity of rice mills substantially and also expedite establishment of para-boiled mills. Considering the conducive atmosphere during the ongoing monsoon season, crop cultivation is expected to be taken up in about 1.4 crore acres across the State with paddy and cotton likely to be cultivated on a record scale.

On the occasion, Chandrashekhar Rao asked the officials to provide all facilities required for comprehensive training to the farmers as a continuous process. He wanted the Horticulture Department to organise training programmes for farmers by roping-in the officials and experts concerned.

The Cabinet asserted that all the vacant posts in the Agriculture and the Civil Supplies departments should be filled immediately. The officials were instructed to rope-in the services of experts and chalk out a plan to lift the harvested crops directly from agricultural fields to the food processing units and then to the markets where there is a demand. The Cabinet also directed the authorities to promote all kinds of newly emerging agro industries.

During the discussion, Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao recalled the poor condition of agriculture sector in Telangana of the then undivided Andhra Pradesh and mentioned about the major achievements in the sector after the formation of Telangana State. In addition to providing quality and uninterrupted power, the government has diverted river water to tanks and then to barren lands following construction of various lift irrigation projects. He pointed out that this had boosted the large scale agricultural operations in the State resulting in a bumper crop every year.

At the same time, the State government has also taken up numerous agricultural and farmer welfare programmes including Rythu Bandhu, timely supply of fertilisers and seeds, among others. As a result, a whopping 3 crore tonnes of paddy was produced in Telangana last year, setting new records. The Chief Minister pointed out that the State government purchased entire paddy crop directly from the farmers without them requiring to step out of their respective villages despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

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