The Telangana government is promoting oil palm cultivation to help farmers improve their financial situation, according to Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Errabelli Dayakar Rao. The minister laid the foundation stone for an oil palm processing unit in Gopalagiri, which will cover 82 acres and cost around Rs 175 crore. The unit will have a crushing capacity of 60-tonne per hour.
Telangana is currently the second-largest cultivator of oil palm in the country. The area under cultivation has increased from around 33,000 acres to 1.54 lakh acres since the formation of Telangana. Farmers can earn between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.50 lakh per acre, excluding expenses, from oil palm cultivation. The State-run Oil Fed will purchase the produce, so farmers do not need to worry. The government has also provided subsidies for oil palm cultivation. The oil palm processing unit will create jobs for at least 300 people.
Errabelli also criticized the Congress and BJP parties, holding them responsible for the backwardness in the state and country. He highlighted the BRS Government’s efforts in implementing welfare and developmental programs, especially for agriculture, such as Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, and 24-hour free power supply.
Several notable individuals, including Warangal MP Pasunuri Dayakar, Oil fed chairman Kancharla Ramakrishna Reddy, Mahabubabad MLA Banoth Shankar Naik, and district collector K Shashanka, along with many farmers, participated in the program.
