A team of 300 farmers from Nirmal district led by Minister for Endowments, Forests, Environment and Law A. Indrakaran Reddy visited oilpalm plantations and factory in Aswaraopet area in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district on Sunday as a study tour for awareness on taking up its cultivaiton.
The farmer team first visited the palm oil factory at Dammapeta and enquired about how farmers were shifting the palm oil fruit bunches from their fields to factory, the processing of bunches that arrived from the field and yield of oil from a tonne of oil palm bunches.
During their visit to oil palm nursery at Allipalli, they enquired about raising nurseries, farming practices followed in oil palm cultivation, use of nutrients and others from the nursery managers. Speaking during the visit, Mr. Indrakaran Reddy said the State Government was encouraging oil palm cultivation as an able alternative to regular crops like paddy since there was huge shortage of oilseeds in the country.
