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Dimapur, Sep. 24 (EMN): Under the National Mission on Oilseed and Oil Palm (NMOOP), launched during 2014-15 by the government of India with an aim to boost the production of oilseeds in the country, Nagaland has covered an area of around 2000 hectare (ha) for oil palm cultivation in six districts under the department of Agriculture.
The joint director of the department of Agriculture, Renphamo Kikon, told Eastern Mirror that oil palm is a tropical crop that grows well in warmer areas.
This, he said, is why oil palm crops are grown in the foothills and warmer areas of Nagaland such as Dimapur, Mon, Mokokchung, Longleng, Wokha and Peren.
“2000 ha of oil palm has been successfully covered in the six districts. As of now, the plantation is going on smoothly and plants are healthy,” said Kikon.
In July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged and encouraged farmers in the north-eastern states to take up oil palm cultivation as a more sustainable means of livelihood.
According to Kikon, oil palm plantations take up massive space as one plant goes up to 30 feet.
“It requires a huge area for oil palm cultivation and the ministry is trying to increase area in the Northeast region; in a hectare, hardly 142 crops are planted,” informed Kikon.
Some may argue that this shift of cultivating non-traditional crops will affect the biodiversity and even the lives of farmers but Kikon reiterated that planting is done mostly in wasteland in the state.
“We are not occupying those already developed areas; we are utilising even wasteland areas for oil palm plantation,” said Kikon.
“There is huge scope where we can produce up to 15-20 metric tonne per hectare per year if properly maintained,” Kikon shared, adding that farmers would benefit immensely as the crop can be harvested throughout the year.
“It is like other forest trees, no pollution or ecological threat as far as it is concerned,” said Kikon, reminding that inter-crop cultivation with pineapple, cocoa and others in the same land could be followed.
“It is not our traditional crop but we have so many wasteland areas and we are occupying those areas. Cultivation processes of other plants will not get affected,” he added.
Though Nagaland is capable of producing a fairly good amount of oil palm, it is yet to have a processing unit and factory. A professor at the Nagaland University, who wished not to be named, said that this could be an issue for farmers.
“There is no processing unit in Nagaland yet and a lot of water in the soil is needed for its growth,” the professor told this newspaper, while also sharing that oil extracted should be processed as soon as possible.
“It takes years for these crops to bear fruit and another few more years for re-plantation. It can have a very adverse economic affect on the farmers,” maintained the professor.
In connection to this, Kikon shared that an MOU was signed with Shivasais Oil Palm Private Limited in 2014 and the company is raising the nursery for the government.
“In the guidelines, it is assured that the company will set up the oil palm factory in Nagaland once commercial production begins,” Kikon informed, adding that by 2021-22, the government is expecting commercial production of oil palm as the crops that were planted in 2014-15 are already bearing fruit.
He further informed that the company will buy the produce till their factory is established.
“They are starting a factory in Assam. So our produce will go there for processing in the meantime,” said Kikon.