Godrej Agrovet MD Balram Singh Yadav briefed Industries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao about the investment plan. , photo credit: arrangement
Food and agriculture conglomerate Godrej Agrovet will set up an edible oil processing plant in Khammam district with an investment of ₹250 crore.
The capacity of the facility to process palm oil will be 30 tonnes per hour which can be expanded up to 60 TPH. This will be the biggest private investment in Khammam district, said the office of Industries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao after Balram Singh Yadav, managing director of Godrej Agrovet, briefed the minister about the company’s investment plans.
Godrej Agrovet plans to make the facility full-scale operational by 2025-26. The factory will have a co-generation plant and will be self-sufficient in power requirement. Mr. Yadav told Mr. Rao that this was one of the many initiatives under consideration in the company’s various business verticals, which include animal feed, aqua feed, agrochemicals, poultry processing and dairy sectors in the state.
The investment announcement assumes significance in the backdrop of Telangana’s emphasis on promoting palm oil plantations to reduce dependence on imported oil. The state was planning to increase oil palm plantation and oilseed production by 2 million acres.
The company said palm oil farmers were to be served through 10 – one existing and nine proposed – Godrej Samadhan Kendras and their extension team. Godrej is currently present in 10 mandals in Khammam and Bhadradri Kothagudem districts in Telangana. As a measure to enhance productivity, the firm will deploy digital assets including satellite/drone tracking of the area under cultivation, image-based crop advisory services, Kisan App and Sapling Portal. The Godrej Agrovet oil palm business at Khammam and Kothagudem, including the processing facility, will generate employment for 250 people (direct employment) and 500 indirect jobs.