Hyderabad: The Indian Vegetable Oil Producers Association (IVPA) will organise a Global Round Table meeting in Hyderabad on Nov 30 to discuss the future of oil palm cultivation, farmers’ welfare, crop productivity and industry participation.Representatives of the IVPA met Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao at the secretariat on Tuesday and invited him to attend the meeting as the chief guest. They requested him to address participants on Telangana’s potential for oil palm cultivation and measures to promote the sector.Tummala said the Telangana govt was giving high priority to the expansion of oil palm cultivation and extending full support to companies involved in the sector. Global companies such as Godrej, Patanjali and Hindustan Unilever were partners in developing oil palm cultivation in the state, and the govt was providing the necessary infrastructure to support their operations, he said.He said Godrej had recently come forward to establish a seed garden for developing sixth-generation hybrid oil palm seeds, the first such initiative in the country, with the state govt extending the required support.Measures taken by the Telangana govt to promote oil palm cultivation and provide incentives have attracted interest from other major companies to invest in the sector, he said.Referring to the prevailing El Niño conditions, Tummala said the cultivation of oil palm and other oilseed crops would be beneficial in view of water availability and crop planning requirements. Expansion of oil palm and other oilseed crops was essential to meet domestic edible oil demand and reduce dependence on imports, he said.The govt was committed to improving farmers’ incomes and promoting agro-based industries in the state, he added.
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