Agriculture Minister K. Kannababu has asked the officials to encourage cultivation of oil palm under borewells instead of paddy.
At a review meeting of the Horticulture Department on Wednesday, the Minister suggested to the officials to identify the dryland areas to encourage oil palm cultivation.
“A committee of experts may be constituted for mapping the same. Andhra Pradesh stands first in oil palm cultivation with 1.32 lakh farmers cultivating it in 1.81 lakh hectares,” he said.
The yield was 19.81 tons per hectare. The government had set a target of extending oil palm cultivation in another 1.12 lakh hectares. The incentives for oil palm cultivation were also increased substantially, he said.
The Minister said that the cultivation increased by 8,801 hectares in 2020–21, and the government spent ₹30.61 crore. Another ₹81.45 crore was spent during 2021-22 on extension of oil palm cultivation.
The Central Government was ready to extend financial assistance for encouraging oil palm cultivation, he said, and asked the officials to take steps in that direction.
Agriculture Special Chief Secretary Poonam Malakondaiah, Horticulture Commissioner S.S. Sridhar, and Additional Director Venkateswarlu were present.
