Shot in the arm: Palm oil plantations on 12k hectares, subsidy hiked

KHAMMAM: In order to give a boost to farmers, the state government has planned oil palm plantations on 12,000 hectares in Khammam and Kothagudem districts.

The State has also hiked the subsidy on palm plants. A farmer should pay only `10 for each plant to Oil fed corporation. The government will provide a subsidy of `80 on each plant. Previously, it was only `56.
With the increase in demand for palm oil plants, the Oil fed officials corporation officials are raising 4.50 lakhs plants in different nurseries in Aswaraopet and Dammapet mandals.

Oil fed corporation divisional manager R Udhaydheer Reddy said that when compared to other commercial crops, palm oil crop is more beneficial. Once planted, it will keep on producing for 25 years, Reddy said. He said that the farmers should plant 57 plants on a single acre of land. The crop will attain maturity after four years of plantation and investment required is `25,000 per year. He added that in the initial four years, they would get 10 tons of vegetation per acre, from which oil can be extracted. A bunch will be sold at `7,655 per ton to factories. The Oil fed corporation divisonal manager added that, in the initial three years of the plantation, farmers can cultivate other crops and get additional income.

One more factory to come up

There is no crushing or marketing problems for farmers as a oil palm factories is already available. One is at Awaraopet in Dammapet mandal and a new factory is coming up at Apparaopet. Each factory can crush 30 tonnes every hour. Moreover, 500 to 700 tonnes can be crushed every day. Apparaopet palm oil factory has been newly constructed, at a cost `80 crores.It was formally launched by the local MLA and will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao soon.