Oil palm: Telangana taps its potential
14.06.2020 (Telangana Today) - By growing oil palm in around 3 lakh acres, Telangana can produce palm oil that will take care of its edible oil requirement, said Sanjay Goenka, CEO, 3F Oil Palm Agrotech Pvt Ltd
Hyderabad: With increased irrigation facilities in the State and the government encouraging farmers to diversify from traditional farming patterns, oil palm cultivation could be the next big thing happening in the agriculture sector in Telangana. Currently, oil palm is being grown in Nalgonda, Suryapet, Khammam and Bhadradri districts of the State with a cumulative area coverage of around 45,000 acres, producing around 30,000 tonnes of crude palm oil.
With Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao focusing on bringing water to every farmer’s fields, and a remarkable increase in groundwater table due to a series of lift irrigation projects and Mission Kakatiya, Telangana is poised to emerge as a front-runner in oil palm plantation and processing.
The State government has now identified 19 more districts with abundant potential, in addition to the four districts that have been growing oil palm. The cumulative area of coverage envisaged is to the tune of around 7 lakh acres, targeting an incredible 15-fold increase in extent of coverage.
Sanjay Goenka, Managing Director and CEO of 3F Oil Palm Agrotech Private Limited, the country’s leading palm oil manufacturer, points out that Telangana, at present, requires over 4 tonnes of edible oil and most of it is either imported or procured from other States. “By growing oil palm in around 3 lakh acres, Telangana can produce palm oil to the tune of around 5 lakh tonnes that will take care of its entire edible oil requirement, without any dependence on other States. Once it reaches the set target of 7 lakh acres, Telangana will be in a position to sell the surplus palm oil to other States,” he said.
With the State government moving forward at breakneck speed and approaching the Centre for approval of its plan to spread oil palm production, the plan is to divide the entire State into zones and hand over zones to companies such as 3F Oil Palm to start the work.
“The Telangana government is keen on zonalising these 23 districts and we have had talks with the government. We have to give a project report, and companies will start investing soon. The State government has reportedly received approval from the Centre to go ahead ,” Sanjay Goenka told Telangana Today, adding that his firm has applied for approval of operations in Nirmal, Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Warangal Rural and Mahbubabad districts.
If taken up in 7 lakh acres in the State, the huge quantity of palm oil produced will add to the State government’s revenue by way of taxes. The Centre’s subsidy, coupled with Telangana government’s focused approach towards oil palm development as per the Telangana Oil Palm (Regulation of Production and Processing) Act, 1993, farmers can reap huge benefits. The pro-farmer government with measures like Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, regulated farming, sharp growth in Irrigation facilities during the last 5-6 years, year-long availability of canal irrigation and free power will bring in the much needed revenue to farmers.
Given the fact that oil palm has to be processed within 24 hours, processing units will also have to be set up amidst the plantation, in rural areas. Considering multiple nature of activities involved in an oil palm project and multiple usages of palm oil, this is expected to generate additional rural employment and allied industries coming up in the rural Telangana.