23/01/2012 (The Hindu) - The State Government will officially launch a drive on January 23 to promote cultivation of oil palm in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi .

This is expected to provide an opportunity for areca growers, especially in Sullia taluk, where large tracts of areca plantations had been affected by yellow leaf disease (YLD) to switch over to an alternative crop.

Some farmers told The Hindu that oil palm cultivation might attract other areca growers who had been facing acute shortage of farm labourers and skilled labourers as areca was a labour-intensive crop.

D.L. Maheshwar, Additional Director of Horticulture (oil palm), Bangalore, told The Hindu on Friday that a Minister was likely to launch the drive at Sullia on January 23.

There would be an exhibition on oil palm cultivation. Horticulture Department officials would explain the facilities available for oil palm growers by the Government, how it should be grown, and how prices of oil palm fruits were fixed.

Mr. Maheshwar said some farmers who had grown oil palm as an alternative to areca in Chikmagalur and Shimoga districts would speak at an interactive session. The Additional Director said oil palm fetched Rs. 6,300 a tonne. Its prices were subject to variation.

It might be mentioned here that the Stage Government issued an order on January 4, 2012 bringing Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts for promoting oil palm cultivation. The Government appointed Godrej Agrovet Ltd., Belgaum, for promoting its cultivation in the two districts.

Farmer K. Vasanth Rao of Todikana in Sullia whose plantation had been hit by the YLD, said an advantage with oil palm cultivation was that the palm oil processing company appointed for its promotion procured harvested fruit from the plantations directly. Hence the growers need not worry about post-harvest management.

Mr. Rao said an information booklet on oil palm cultivation published by the State Government said oil palm fruits could be harvested in three years of planting. An oil palm would give yield up to 30 years. Fruit yield was 15 to 30 tonnes a hectare per annum.

Those preferring rubber as an alternative crop would have to wait for seven years to tap rubber and had to cope with acute shortage of tappers, he said.

All India Areca Growers' Association president Manchi Srinivasa Achar said oil palm could be the first choice of alternative crop for farmers in YLD hit areas. But for farmers in other areas it would be one more alternative choice with rubber and cashew nut.