Maksam Tayeng

PASIGHAT, Jun 16: In a bid to boost the cultivation of Oil Palm here in the state, the Department of Agriculture and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research, Pedavegi, Andhra Pradesh organized a one-day awareness cum training programme for Oil Palm growers of East Siang district today at College of Horticulture & Forestry auditorium.
Dr RK Mathur and Dr MV Prasad from ICAR-IIOPR spoke on the urgent need to speed up the growing of Oil Palm in Arunachal Pradesh, as the state has huge potential and it can be grown in agricultural areas by replacing less yielding and less economically viable crops.
“For the cultivation of the oil palm, no forest lands need to be destroyed as misunderstood by many. The grassland, furrow land, wasteland and jhum cultivation area can be converted into oil palm cultivation which would give many benefits to the farmers in comparison to other cash crops," added Dr. Mathur and Dr. Prasad. 
The duo also cleared farmer's doubts about Oil Palm doing harm to the state similarly to Indonesia and Malaysia where its cultivation has damaged forest land and affected wildlife.
"Hailing from places like Rajasthan and other areas where forest coverage is less, we know the value of forests and so forested land needn’t be damaged for the cultivation of Oil Palm. Moreover, the growing of Oil Palm in the Jhum cultivation areas and other non-forested areas would also increase greenery while giving good economical returns to the farmers," said Dr. Mathur.
Anong Lego, Director, Deptt. of Agriculture also advised the farmers to take the benefits and assistance meant for the Oil Palm growers provided by the Government of India and Government of Arunachal Pradesh as there is no dearth of funds for Oil Palm cultivation.
MLA Ninong Ering, also suggested the farmers of East Siang district to opt for the cultivation of Oil Palm which could become a good source of income for many farmers.
Dr. BN Hazarika, Dean, CHF Pasighat also spoke on the success of Oil Palm cultivation in Pasighat. After cultivating it since its introduction on trial mode at the campus in 2006, the yield of Oil Palm is much high, he said.
During the programme, five Oil Palm farmers received tools while another 80 will receive  the same after the programme. In the state, a total of 400 farmers will receive the same tools which will aid farmers in cultivating oil palm, informed Agriculture officials.
Arunachal Pradesh has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ruchi Soya Industries to plant 25,000 hectares of oil palm. This brings the total area earmarked for oil palm in the state to 45,000 hectares (or 450 sq. km.). 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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