Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao said that if the Centre increased the duty on palm oil imports, it would benefit the farmers growing oil palms in the country.

Nageswara Rao, along with Speaker of the Assembly Gaddam Prasad, Chairman of the Legislative Council Gutha Sukhender Reddy, Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao and others attended a “Farmers’ Festival” held at Narmetta village in Siddipet district on Thursday, March 19.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is scheduled to inaugurate the newly-constructed oil palm processing factory in Narmetta on March 22. The factory has been built by the Telangana Oilfed for Rs 300 crore in 18 months.

Speaking at the gathering, Nageswara Rao said that he has also met with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for the establishment of a Palm Oil Refinery in Siddipet, for which a foundation stone would be laid shortly.

With Siddipet located in the centre of the state geographically, he felt it would be beneficial to all. He said that palm oil factories have been set up in all districts in the state.

He has appealed to the farmers to diversify their crops by cultivating those which were high in demand and could yield higher profits.

Harish credits KLIS for enabling oil palm cultivation in Siddipet

Addressing the gathering, Harish Rao said that Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) has enabled favourable weather conditions for growing oil palms in Siddipet.

“Before the Kaleshwaram project was constructed, there used to be less humidity in the air, making oil palm cultivation not feasible in this area. After irrigation was extended to this area, scientists have observed high humid conditions, which created favourable conditions for oil palm cultivation,” he noted.

He claimed that oil palm cultivation would not be affected in his district even during drought or flood situations.

Also mentioning that Siddipet stood second only after Khammam in oil palm cultivated area, he urged the state government to further encourage the farmers to grow it.