Godrej Agrovet Ltd has set a target of bringing around 20,000 hectares of area under oil palm in the districts allocated to it in Karnataka by 2020.

Samir Pai Raikar, Deputy General Manager, Oil Palm Plantations, Godrej Agrovet Ltd, told BusinessLine that the company has got allotments in Belagavi, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts; two taluks in Dharwad district; and three taluks in Uttara Kannada district. The Karnataka government has identified 2.5 lakh hectares of land as having potential for oil palm cultivation. As of now, it is grown on 13,000 hectares. The government is developing these potential areas under the public-private partnership model. Five agencies have been allotted specific districts for oil palm development activities. Godrej Agrovet is one among them.

Their role is to develop oil palm plants, expand the area of cultivation, take up farm extension activities, buy FFBs from the growers at the price fixed by the State government, and process them in their units.

In Belagavi, the area identified by the government is around 40,000 hectares; Udupi and Dakshina Kannada put together the potential is in around 2,000 hectares, and around 1,000 hectares in Dharwad and Kalghatagi taluks of Dharwad district.

“We would like to cover at least 50 per cent of the potential area target by 2020,” Raikar said.

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