Telangana is keen to bring more area under oilseeds crops as it will help prepare land for production of paddy on a large scale as well as investment in edible oil refining and food processing sector, Industries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao. ,
“We are asking farmers to move away from paddy…the production was so high that the Indian government said it could not buy any more. In the next five years, 20 lakh acres under paddy in Telangana will be systematically shifted to oil palm,” the minister told the Indian Vegetable Oil Producers Association (IVPA) Global Roundtable 2022 here on Friday.
He said paddy production in Telangana has increased from 68 lakh tonnes in 2014 to 259 lakh tonnes this year, with new irrigation projects of the state government bringing an additional 40 lakh acres under cultivation.
Inviting industry and company leaders, he said a shift away from paddy to palm oil, soybean, groundnut and sunflower would increase the availability of raw materials for edible oil production without the deforestation some countries accuse has been applied. To consider investing in Telangana. He added that higher oilseed production would translate into lower foreign exchange outlay for a country like India, which imports 60% of its edible oil requirements.
Highlighting the Telangana government’s policy initiatives for ease of doing business, especially the TS-iPASS system of time-bound approvals for new projects, Mr Rao said the state has taken the initiative to set up exclusive food processing zones over 10,000 acres. which is bound to interest the investors.
Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy said that after the Center allowed palm oil cultivation in 25 of the 33 districts, the state has given approval to 11 companies to set up 25 oil crushing and refining units. While the target is to bring 1.75 lakh acres under oilseeds this year, plantation in 40,000 acres may end as excessive rains have come in the way. He was hopeful that more area would be brought under plantation due to the farmer friendly policies of the state.
IVPA President Sudhakar Desai said the global food crisis due to the pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war has thrown up several challenges in the edible oil sector ranging from sourcing to demand and supply, production and other market dynamics. It has once again brought into focus the need to become self-sufficient in edible oils. The two-day roundtable on Vegetable Oils and Oilseeds Sector aims to develop solutions to challenges, build partnerships and develop a road map to make India self-sufficient in edible oils.