Andhra Pradesh stands first in the country in oil palm cultivation and production covering an area of 1.62 lakh hectare with a yield of 14.09 lakh metric tons (MTs) of fresh fruit bunches (FFBs). The average productivity stands at 19.81 tons per hectare from the bearing plantations. Apart from attractive returns and the government’s oil palm development programme etc., ‘absentee landlordism’ is also said to be one of the reasons behind farmers taking up cultivation of oil palm.

According to information, thousands of farmers in the State are cultivating oil palm for various reasons including returns per acre and very less incidence of pest and disease compared to other crops. In addition, inter-crops like cocoa, pepper and vegetables can also be taken up. About 1.14 lakh farmers are into oil palm cultivation. On an average, the farmers are getting a net income of ₹40,000 to ₹50,000 per acre from oil palm crop, horticulture officials say.

The technical committees for taking up oil palm cultivation in the State headed by Mr. L.Chadda and Mr. Rethinum have identified a potential area of 4.29 lakh hectare in the State. As many as 229 mandals were identified in nine districts, including Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Nellore, Anantapur and Chittoor. At present, the total area covered is 1,62,689 hectares.

Many advantages

When contacted, Horticulture Commissioner Chiranjiv Choudhary says, “Andhra Pradesh stands first in area and production of oil palm in the country.”

The oil palm cultivation is catching the attention of farmers as it doesn’t require intensive labour and doesn’t have pest problems. West Godavari district tops with a total area of 86,476 hectares, while Anantapur has an area of 282 hectares, the lowest in the State.

“The absentee landlords are found to be taking up the oil palm cultivation,” he feels.

The State and Central governments are encouraging oil palm cultivation under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) – Oil palm.

Govt. policy

Under the programme, the oil processing units have to supply quality plant material, timely fertilizers and technical know-how to the farmers identified for taking up oil palm plantation in the areas coming under their respective factories. There are 13 processing units in the State with a crushing capacity of 461 MTs per hour, he adds.