Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao promises palm oil factory at Mulakalapalli

Mulakalapalli (Kothagudem): Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao announced that a palm oil processing factory would be established if cultivation in Mulakalapalli mandal expands by another 10,000 acres.

Addressing an interaction programme with oil palm farmers at Mulakalapalli in Bhadradri Kothagudem district on Tuesday, the minister, accompanied by District Collector Ankit, urged farmers to adopt crop diversification to mitigate the impact of the anticipated El Niño conditions and promote sustainable agriculture.

Highlighting the threat posed by a Super El Niño, the minister said the district had already recorded a 35 per cent rainfall deficit and warned that rainfall during July, August, and September could remain 20-30 per cent below normal. He advised farmers against cultivating paddy solely on borewell irrigation and instead encouraged them to take up less water-intensive crops such as green gram, black gram, red gram and cowpea.

He also recommended intercropping red gram with cotton and cultivating drumstick and pulses alongside oil palm to improve soil fertility and enhance farmers’ incomes, noting that drumstick leaves had a growing demand in international markets. Tummala said nearly 8,000 acres in Mulakalapalli were currently under oil palm cultivation and assured that the government would immediately lay the foundation stone for a palm oil factory once the cultivated area increased by another 10,000 acres.

He also announced measures to provide solar-powered electricity facilities to resolve power issues in podu cultivation areas. Calling for greater water conservation, the minister urged farmers to construct farm ponds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to harvest rainwater and improve groundwater recharge.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to supplying Godavari river water across the undivided Khammam district through the Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project. He said tanks would be filled after the completion of the Yathalakunta tunnel works and appealed to farmers to cooperate in the construction of distributary canals to expedite irrigation coverage.

“Providing Godavari water to every Assembly constituency in the undivided Khammam district is my life’s mission,” the minister said.

District Collector Ankit said Bhadradri Kothagudem ranked first in Telangana in oil palm cultivation, with nearly 90,000 acres already under the crop. He said the district had set a target of bringing another 15,000 acres under oil palm cultivation this year.

Later, the minister and the Collector distributed red gram and black gram seeds to farmers under the Atmanirbhar Mission Pulses Programme, under which seeds are being supplied at a 50 per cent subsidy.

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The Hans India