Any further drop in the prices would leave the farmers at crossroads, as the oil palm is a perennial crop with a life cycle of over 25 years.
Published Date – 11 July 2024, 07:18 PM
Hyderabad: With the oil palm Fresh Fruit bunch (FFB) prices showing a declining trend, farmers are becoming restive in the State. Though the drop in the prices owed to multiple factors including global supply dynamics, the farmers are holding the Centre and its policies primarily responsible for their big worry. The FFB that fetched over Rs.18,000 per ton, now commands a price of only Rs.13,700.
Any further drop in the prices would leave the farmers at crossroads, as the oil palm is a perennial crop with a life cycle of over 25 years. Given the huge investments involved they cannot be expected to switch over to other crops overnight. The State has over 2.3 lakh acres under oil palm involving over 46000 farmers. Much of it was promoted of late under the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm.
The States of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala account for nearly 98 per cent of the country’s oil palm production and the organisations representing farmers from the three States were making coordinated efforts to mount pressure on the Centre to have in place a mechanism that can safeguard the interests of oil palm farmers. Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageshwara Rao and his AP counterpart K Atchannaidu have been approached by farmers from their respective States seeking intervention.
Telangana Oil Palm Growers’ Association president, Alapati Ramachandra Prasad said the area under oil palm was growing year by year. So was the case with the number of farmers. The price drop, unless it was addressed on priority, would have a bearing in the oil palm promotion programme that was being implemented extending incentive to the growers for the last few years.
On behalf of the oil palm growers in all States, he said the association had urged the union Minister for Agriculture to take steps to ensure that the farmers would fetch at least Rs.18,000 per ton of the FFB. The Telangana Agriculture Minister also was requested to take up the issue with the Centre. He exuded confidence that the Centre would respond positively.
Oil palm crops globally produce an annual 81 million tonnes of oil from about 4.70 crore acres. India has been importing palm oil worth over Rs 92000 crore annually. Due support extended to the oil palm growers would help minimise the imports.
Voicing concern over the plight of oil palm farmers, Ankata Maheswar Rao said that Centre had lowered the import duties on crude palm oil along with crude sunflower oil and crude soy oil to keep the soaring prices of edible oil under check before the last general elections. The import duties on palm oil, which had come down from nearly 40 per cent to almost zero, will be in effect till March 2025. But the Centre’s decision has put the domestic farmers to disadvantage.
- Oil Palm FFB fetch Rs 13,700 per ton, down from Rs 18000 in two years
- State farmers mount pressure on govt to make oil palm farming remunerative
- Farmers of TS, AP, Kerala working in coordination to take up issues with centre
- Centre’s poll time measures blamed for farmers’ plight
- Price drop may have bearing on NMEO-OP