Centre aims to bring 28L hectares under oil palm farming

Hyderabad: India is on a mission to bring 28 lakh hectares of land under oil palm cultivation to make India self sufficient (Atmanirbhar) in edible oil production, said Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar while addressing a business summit in Hyderabad on Tuesday to promote the centrally sponsored scheme National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).

The NMEO-OP scheme was announced recently to boost domestic production of oil palm and cut the dependence on its imports. Out of the total imports, palm oil accounts 60 per cent at 10 MT worth Rs 70,000 crore per annum. At present, oil palm cultivation is taken up in 3.7 lakh hectare (9.25 lakh acre) with a crude palm oil (CPO) production of 2.5 lakh MT in India. The oil palm can be produced in 28 lakh hectares across the country, including 9 lakh hectares in North Eastern States. Government of India has conducted first business summit at Guwahati in Assam for North Eastern States on October 5, 2021. AP has almost 50 per cent of the oil palm cultivation in the country with 1.8 lakh hectares, while Telangana has 28,000 hectares. Lauding the efforts made by Telangana government in the promotion of oil palm cultivation, Narendra Singh Tomar said that the State can become an emerging leader in palm oil production. Telangana government has notified 26 districts for oil palm cultivation and set a target of five lakh hectares of plantation for 2022-23. Around 11 oil processors are operating in the State at present.

Speaking on the occasion, Telangana Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said the State government has drawn an ambitious plan for oil palm expansion. He asked the Union government to allow oil palm farming in 30 lakh acres in the State over the next five years.