With oil palm prices falling below ₹13,000 (a tonne) witnessing a 50 per cent drop in 2022, oil palm farmers in Telangana have asked the Government to initiate measures to ensure a price of at least ₹25,000 tonne.
“At this price, it is not viable for farmers. It is unsustainable,” Maheswara Reddy, President of the Oil Palm Growers Society (Aswaraopeta Zone), told businessline.
The society wanted the government to set up an Oil Palm Board to take care of the challenges that the farmers were facing. “It can also ensure usage of good varieties, inputs and other issues related to the growth of plantations,” he said.
Khammam district, which is home to the State’s oil palm acreage, produces three lakh tonnes of FFBs (fresh fruit bunches) every year. This is expected to double in the next two years as the acreage is going up.
“It can regulate the crop and keep tabs on the companies that received land from the government to set up nurseries and refineries. It can also take care of the pricing issues to insulate the farmers from the fluctuations,” he said.
Reddy, who is also an oil palm farmer for over 17 years, said that the prices had never been so low. He attributed the fall in prices to the reduction of import duty to zero.
“It will be tough to survive for farmers. The State Government had announced ambitious plans to grow oil palm in 20 lakh acres and asked farmers to tap this opportunity. When they did, they were not getting remunerative prices. This is very discouraging,” he said.
The State’s acreage went up to two lakh acres in the last few years from 50,000 acres after the then Bharat Rashtra Samithi Government announced its plan to promote oil palm in a big way and become a leader in the oil palm plantation in the country.
The National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm, launched by the NDA Government, came in handy for the State’s efforts. The State permitted 14 companies to raise nurseries and make the saplings available to farmers. These initiatives helped some farmers take the lead.
Reddy, however, argued that the intent didn’t translate into action properly. “There was no proper deliberations with stakeholders on how to roll out the State’s action plan,” he said.