Palm oil venture: Cultivation to cover 2 lakh hectares by 2026

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Agriculture Department is ready to venture into palm oil cultivation in a massive way. It has the target of covering two lakh hectares of land by 2026. The Centre, on the other hand, has identified 3.75 lakh hectares of land as potential areas for palm oil cultivation in the state.

State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora had a meeting with the top-level officials of various companies that will cultivate palm oil in the state. The cultivation will cover 18 districts in the state, and the department has allotted arable land for palm oil cultivation to four companies. While Godrej Agrovet Ltd. will cultivate in Hailakandi, Cachar, and Karimganj districts; Patanjali Food Ltd. will cultivate in Jorhat, Golaghat, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Kamrup, Goalpara, and Nagaon districts; KE Cultivation will cultivate in Dhemaji and Sonitpur districts; and 3F Oil Palm Company will cultivate in Lakhimpur and Chirang districts.

According to official sources, the department has already notified district programme management teams for the smooth implementation of the scheme. It has also notified officers at the district level.

The department has arranged training for 275 farmers and 18 officers for capacity building. The empanelled companies have started nursery activities in their allotted districts, and so far they have completed seven such nurseries, and as many are nearing completion.

According to official sources, as there is a scarcity of large private lands suitable for establishing oil palm nurseries, the department is trying to lease out some of the government seed farms for this purpose. The process to bring seedlings from Andhra Pradesh is also underway. To set up palm oil processing mills, the Agriculture Department is trying to tie up with the Department of Industries for the purpose.

Already, various organizations have been opposing the palm oil cultivation venture, as that absorbs the groundwater to a large extent and may have cascading effects on other cultivation in the state. They urged the government to think twice before starting a venture so as not to affect common farmers.

Also Read: Assam to Yield Benefits of Palm Oil by 2025, 2 Lakh Hectares Identified for Cultivation

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