Collector V. Sampath inspects the post-harvested oil palm fruits at a farm in Vittalapuram near Tindivanam.

11/08/2014 (Hindu Business Line) - With a view to increasing indigenous production of edible oil and to enable farmers to earn substantial income, the State government has launched the Oil Palm Development Programme.

As of now 5,000 acres has been brought under the cultivation of oil palm trees in Villupuram district. Given the yield level the farmers who have taken to the cultivation of the crop would be happy, according to V. Sampath, District Collector. The Collector recently inspected the oil palm plantation raised on 20 acres by a progressive farmer Ramadas Nainar at Vittalapuram near Tindivanam. He also assessed the quality of the oil palm fruit bunches.

Later, he told reporters that the country had attained self-sufficiency in the cultivation of paddy, wheat, millets, vegetables, fruits and dairy products. But as far as the production of edible oil was concerned, it was far from meeting the domestic demand. To attain self-sufficiency in edible oil production and to save the foreign exchange outgo, the Tamil Nadu government had launched the programme.

To encourage the farmers to take to oil palm cultivation it was extending a total subsidy of Rs. 28,100 per ha for a period of four years, the gestation period the plant would take to come to fruit-bearing stage.Mr. Sampath further said that during the four-year period the farmers could go in for intercropping of sugarcane, banana and tapioca. The government would be extending 50 per cent subsidy for the intercropping too.

The Collector underscored the point that Villupuram district had the ideal agro-climatic conditions to raise oil palm plantations.