Oil palm cultivation has become a testing ground for
implementing the public-private participation module in the propagation
of horticulture crops in the State.
For achieving an integrated oil palm development, sources told
The Hindu
here recently that the responsibility of raising nurseries, area
expansion, distribution of inputs, procurement of fresh fruit bunches
and the establishment of processing mills has been entrusted to private
partners. Now, five entrepreneurs are operating in the State.
Karnataka
has been identified as one of potential areas for oil palm cultivation
in the country and as per one of the estimates, oil palm cultivation can
be taken up successfully in 2.60 lakh hectares in the State.
As
oil palm is known to be a water guzzler, the command areas of the
Cauvery, the Bhadra, the Krishna the Tungabhadra, the Malaprabha and the
Ghataprabha have been identified for propagating oil palm cultivation
with assured returns.
At present, oil palm
cultivation is being taken up in 11,000 hectares of land with an annual
production of oil palm fresh fruit bunches of 14,500 tonnes. The annual
production of crude palm oil is 2,497 tonnes.
The
sources said that under the Oil Palm Development Programme, a well
organised market facility to buy back the produce from farmers has been
set up. Oil palm entrepreneurs who have been given specific areas of
operation have been entrusted with the responsibility of procuring fresh
fruit bunches from farmers at a price fixed by the government.
Prices
of oil palm have been decided based on scientific formula approved by
the Price Fixation Committee, of which oil palm farmers, oil palm
entrepreneurs are members and the Principal Secretary of the
Horticulture Department is the Chairman. This year, the price of fresh
fruit bunches has been fixed at Rs. 5,291 per tonne and payment is made
to the bank accounts of farmers once a month.
To
encourage farmers to take up oil palm cultivation, the State government
has provided an input assistance of Rs. 16,000 per hectare in the form
of inorganic fertilizers for four years and planting material subsidy of
Rs. 8,000 per hectare. Subsidies are extended for the purchase of
various implements to adopt drip irrigation, inter cropping drilling
borewell, water harvesting structures and diesel pumpsets.
At present, oil palm cultivation is being taken up in 11,000 hectares of land
Source : The Hindu
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