ELURU: Even as Eluru district has emerged as one of Andhra Pradesh’s major hubs for palm oil and Cocoa cultivation, the farmers continue to face mounting challenges related to pricing mechanism, rising input costs, market volatility, and delayed policy implementation. Eluru District Horticulture Officer Saja Naik told TNIE that the rapid expansion of Palm oil crop not translated into stable incomes for cultivators, mainly due to contemporary issues linked to procurement practices and global price fluctuations. Oil palm is a long-gestation crop, which increases farmers’ vulnerability to market uncertainty.
At present, the total oil palm cultivation area in Eluru district is estimated to range between 1 lakh acres and 1.60 lakh acres, involving thousands of small and marginal farmers.
Although the government recently announced a record oil palm price of Rs 19,579 per metric ton, with payments credited directly to farmers’ bank accounts, farmers say the benefits are uneven.
The current FFB (Fresh Fruit Bunch) price stands at around Rs 1,918 per quintal, but private procurement companies are allegedly reducing payments by citing moisture content and quality norms, a practice that farmers claim lacks transparency.
This has become a major contemporary issue, as procurement is largely dependent on private mills rather than regulated markets.
Saja Naik noted that oil palm cultivation alone provides livelihoods to over 40,000 people in the district, underlining its economic importance.
However, he cautioned that unless price stabilisation mechanisms, transparent procurement practices, timely input supply, and institutional support for processing are implemented, farmers may gradually withdraw from long-gestation crops like cocoa and oil palm. Addressing these contemporary issues, he said, is crucial to ensuring sustainable agricultural growth and income security in Eluru district.
Cocoa farmers are facing similar challenges. While international cocoa prices range between Rs 380 and Rs 400 per kilogram, farmers in Eluru say they are unable to realize these rates locally.
The district has an estimated 20,000 to 22,000 cocoa farmers, many of whom depend on cocoa as a secondary income source. Though the state government has proposed a minimum support price of Rs 500 per kg, its delayed and partial implementation has added to farmers’ uncertainty, particularly in the absence of a formal procurement system.
Escalating input costs have further intensified the crisis. Farmers report that the average cost of cocoa cultivation is around Rs 1.5 lakh per acre, while oil palm cultivation costs range from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.2 lakh per acre.
In a bid to improve productivity, many farmers are sourcing high-quality cocoa saplings from the Tanuku-Narsapuram region, reflecting the growing demand for better planting material.