HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao directed the officials to create a brand image for Telangana cotton, which is high quality cotton. Rao also approved a plan for extending oil palm cultivation in eight lakh acres at an estimated cost f `4,800 crore. He held a review meeting on Agricultural sector at Pragathi Bhavan on Monday. The cotton staple grown in the State was the lengthiest and its hardness is also one of the best in the country, Rao said. He directed the officials of Agriculture Department to hold a conference with all the experts and specialists.
Telangana has the second largest area under cotton cultivation in the country covering 60 lakh acres. Before the formation of the State, there were only 60 ginning mills and now, it has increased to 300.
The Chief Minster said that there was a lot of demand in the market for cotton, pluses, and oilseeds. Vegetable were also getting good price and cultivation of vegetable should be increased. Cultivation of red gram should also be increased to 20 lakh acres, Rao told officials.
50% subsidy for oil palm
At another review meeting, the Chief Minister also approved the Oil Palm Crop Extension project at an estimated cost of `4,800 crore. Rao declared that farmers would be given 50 per cent subsidy to cultivate the oil palm in the State.
He said Oil palm cultivation was possible only in the areas where there was a continuous availability of water for cultivation. Sate is providing irrigation water and round-the-clock uninterrupted power supply, Rao said and urged the farmers to utilise the opportunity and go in for oil palm cultivation in a big way. Farmers would get an assured income of `1 lakh per acre, he said.Meanwhile, the Rao congratulated Telangana Seeds Corporation MD K Keshavulu after TS Seed Certification Authority was selected as the best in the country by the ICAR.
Many districts taking up oil palm cultivation
Oil palm is being cultivated in 38,000 acres in Khammam, Nalgonda, and Suryapet
districts. It was decided to cultivate oil palm in 8,14,270 acres in Nirmal, Mahabubabad, Kamareddy, Warangal Rural, Nizamabad, Siddipet, Bhupalpally, Peddapalli, Karimnagar, Adilabad, Jagtial, Mancherial, Asifabad, Suryapet, Jangaon, Mulugu,and other districts