7,315 farmers of the state benefited, direct purchase is being made from farmers at the rate of Rs 22,000 per tonne.  

Raipur - To achieve the goal of a self-reliant India in edible oil, oil palm cultivation is being continuously promoted in Chhattisgarh. To date, oil palm cultivation has been implemented on 10,796 hectares in the state, benefiting 7,315 farmers. The district administration is also working to increase the area by earmarking land for oil palm cultivation. In this regard, Director of Horticulture, Mr. Lokesh Kumar, inspected farmers' fields in Durg and Bemetara districts, reviewed the progress of the projects, and encouraged farmers to plant oil palm in larger areas. During the inspection, Director of Horticulture, Mr. Lokesh Kumar, observed the work being done under the National Horticulture Mission, Integrated Horticulture Development Program, and National Mission on Oil Palm. He issued necessary guidelines to officials and provided technical guidance to farmers. It is worth noting that oil palm cultivation has been underway in the state since 2012-13. Currently, approximately 10,796 hectares have been planted across all districts, benefiting 7,315 farmers. Approximately 1,394.88 tons of fresh fruit bunches have been produced so far. The Government of India has set a minimum price of ₹16,460.46 per ton for fresh fruit bunches, while in Chhattisgarh, direct purchases are being made from farmers at a rate of ₹22,000 per ton. Director Mr. Lokesh Kumar visited Mrs. Suniti Devi Madharia's one-hectare oil palm intercrop with tomatoes and Mr. Praveen Madharia's one-hectare oil palm intercrop with bananas in Dhaba village in Durg district. He shared information about subsidies and grants with the farmers. He then inspected oil palm, banana, mango, fencing, and intercrops planted in the fields of selected and benefited farmers in Parsadapar, Chikhala, and Rajpur in Durg district and Dongitarai village in Bemetara district. Director Mr. Lokesh Kumar gave detailed information to the farmers about the financial assistance available on oil palm saplings, fencing, tube wells, drip irrigation and intercrops under the scheme and the market arrangement for the produce. He said that oil palm cultivation is becoming a better option for increasing the income of the farmers. After inspecting the plug type seedling unit at the Government Seed Multiplication Project located at Rajpur, instructions were given to repair it immediately, so that quality saplings can be made available to the farmers in the coming season.