Mega Oil Palm Plantation drive organized in 49 districts of 11 states
Various State Governments along with Oil Palm Processing Companies, organized a
Mega Oil Palm Plantation Drive from 25th of July 2023 till today
Oil Palm Plantation done in more than 3500 ha. area, involving approximately
7000 farmers in above-mentioned duration
Under the
National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm, the State Governments along with
Oil Palm processing companies initiated a ‘Mega Oil Palm Plantation Drive’ that
commenced on 25th July
2023 to further promote and increase oil palm cultivation, making the country
and its farmers ‘Atma-Nirbhar’ in edible oils production. This will further
assist in achieving the target of bringing an additional area of 6.5 lakh ha
under oil palm production by 2025-26.
The major oil palm growing states where the plantation
drive was organized are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Karnataka, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu,
Telangana, and Tripura. The Oil Palm Processing companies such as Patanjali Food
Pvt Ltd., Godrej Agrovet, and 3F participated actively in the drive. Apart from
that other regional companies such as KE Cultivation and NavBharat also
participated in the drive. The Mega Oil Palm Plantation drive concluded on 12 August
2023. Through this drive, the states and the companies were able to reach out
to more than 7000 farmers in 77 villages of 49 districts in 11 states, covering
approximately 3500 ha of the area and planting more than 5.00 lakh planting
material.
As part of the mega plantation drive, the companies also
organized unique and intensive large-scale technical training seminars on oil
palm cultivation for farmers along with the department staff. The aim of the
seminars conducted was to make the farmers and the staff more aware of the
management packages which will help to ensure the plants’ health, thereby
enhancing productivity and creating sustainable income sources.
Several dignitaries including senior political leaders,
department officials, and gram panchayat members also graced the series of
events that were conducted as part of the Pan-India Mega Oil Palm Plantation
Drive.
Under the scheme, farmers are also provided various
incentives, including quality planting material, financial assistance for the
maintenance of the crop and intercropping. Additionally, the farmers are also
provided an assured market with guaranteed prices for their produce.