KTR assures bigger push for oil palm cultivation upon returning to power

BRS working president KT Rama Rao promised enhanced incentives for oil palm cultivators, including mechanisation support and study tours to Malaysia, if the party returns to power in 2028. He also criticised the Congress government and reiterated BRS' commitment to expanding oil palm cultivation

Warangal: BRS working president KT Rama Rao assured enhanced incentives for oil palm cultivators, including subsidised farm mechanisation and study tours to Malaysia, upon returning to power in 2028. He also expressed confidence that Telangana would emerge as the country’s leading oil palm producer under a future BRS government.

Interacting with oil palm farmers during his recent visit to Jayashankar Bhupalpally district, Rama Rao discussed the progress of the crop diversification programme initiated during the previous BRS regime and the challenges faced by cultivators.

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He said former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao envisioned expanding oil palm cultivation to 20 lakh acres to reduce India’s dependence on edible oil imports while providing farmers with returns substantially higher than those from conventional crops like paddy. He stated that oil palm cultivation doubled from about 1.5 lakh acres to nearly three lakh acres during the BRS tenure.

Farmers shared their experiences, with several terming oil palm a stable source of monthly income and a crop requiring relatively less water than paddy. They sought greater support for mechanisation to address labour shortages, assistance for installing additional drip irrigation lines after plantations mature, and anti-dumping measures to protect domestic growers from low-priced palm oil imports.

Responding to their requests, the former Minister said that after coming to power, the future BRS government would provide higher subsidies for agricultural machinery such as tractors and slashers, extend support for second-stage drip irrigation systems, and organise exposure visits to Malaysia to enable farmers to study advanced cultivation, mechanisation and water management practices.

Rama Rao criticised the Congress government over its failure to effectively utilise the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme despite water being available. He argued that the entire irrigation system should not be abandoned because of problems at one section of the Medigadda barrage. He demanded immediate operation of the Kannepalli pump house to fill reservoirs and protect standing crops.

Reiterating that farmers’ welfare remained central to the BRS agenda, he said Telangana’s crop diversification model became an example for the country and asserted that the party would accelerate oil palm cultivation after returning to power in 2028.