Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar has directed the officials to take measures for bringing five lakh hectares of land under palm oil cultivation in 2022-23.
Chief Secretary held a review meeting with officials of Horticulture and Industries Departments at BRKR Bhavan on Wednesday. The Chief Secretary said Cabinet has approved an action plan for palm oil cultivation. Around 20 lakh acres of land shall be brought under palm oil cultivation in Telangana to enable farmers to get a better income.
It is a well-known fact that palm oil gives 4 to 5 times more income compared to paddy. It requires less water for irrigation.
The study conducted by the Government of India has shown that most areas of Telangana are suitable for palm oil cultivation. On the directions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Kumar reviewed and the progress of palm oil cultivation in Telangana.
During the meeting, the officials informed the Chief Secretary that so far 18 nurseries have been set up and 23.41 lakh palm oil sprouts received. These sprouts are sufficient for palm oil cultivation in 36,000 acres.
Indent has been placed by various companies for 2.11 crore palm oil sprouts. The farmers have shown keen interest in palm oil cultivation in the state. The government of India has reduced the custom duty on the palm oil seeds imports from 30 percent to 5 percent which will help the farmers, an official release said.