BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 29th November 2023: Agriculture and Farmers welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath today said that the state government has decided to bring 7,000 hectares of land for oil palm cultivation under National Mission on Edible Oil Palm Project by 2026-27.
He said that besides financially enriching the farmers of the state, the state government has given special importance to palm oil cultivation with the aim of increasing their income.
“Palm oil is a promising new crop in India. Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand and Cambodia produce more than 90 percent of the world’s palm oil. India has imported about 133.52 lakh metric tonnes of edible oil in 2020-21 which is worth about Rs 80 thousand crores. Palm oil accounts for about 56 percent of all imported edible oils. That is 75 lakh metric tons. In addition to self-sufficiency in edible oil, the Indian government has given importance to palm oil cultivation to reduce imports. Currently, 38,992 hectares of palm oil is cultivated in North Eastern India.
The climate, rainfall, soil etc. of North Eastern region including Tripura are favorable for palm oil cultivation. The agriculture minister said that in 2020, the ICAR-IIOPR re-evaluation committee identified 1,46,364 hectares of land for expansion of palm oil cultivable area in the state through digital mapping” he said.
