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Our Correspondent
Kohima, Sep. 2 (EMN): Nagaland is planning to extend oil palm plantation area along the foothills areas of the state in eight districts.
Subject Matter Specialist and Programme Officer in-charge of National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), Ronchamo Kikon, said ‘the department envisages extending plantation areas in a sustainable manner along the hugely potential foothills of the state’.
‘The cultivation will be on a cluster mode. It has been divided into zone-wise. Districts like Peren, Dimapur, Chumoukedima, Niuland, and Wokha are under the first zone, while Mokokchung, Longleng, and Mon come under zone-two,’ he said during a technical session of Agriculture officers’ coordination meeting in Kohima on Friday.
Speaking further on the 'present status of oil palm cultivation in Nagaland', the officer revealed that the state is in the process of establishing seed gardens, nursery and processing mill, and the same has been approved under NMEO - OP (2022-23).
As per the record, the state has covered 5423 Ha, spread across the state, in oil palm plantation. The fruiting areas stands at 1127 Ha and the total FFBs production stands at 1654.07 MT. Buy back of FFBs is yet to start, Kikon informed.
‘However, the oil palm cultivation area in the state has reduced for reasons like long gestation period don't encourage small and marginal farmers to take up such farming due to resource constraint; collection centres are not yet established, damage by wild animals and rodents, fragmented land holding and cultivation areas, and delay in establishment of crude palm oil extraction mill,’ he pointed out.
He added that road condition and ecological concerns are other challenges for oil palm cultivation. ‘Most of the roads are only fair-weather roads, posing difficulty for collection of FFBs during monsoon.’
Cultivation of oil palm started in the state in 2015-16 after an MoU was signed with Shivasais Oil Palm Private Ltd., Andhra Pradesh, in 2014, it was informed.
‘A coordination meeting was held on August 18 2021 and settled for a target area of 15000 Ha. Only last month, the MoU with Shivasais Oil Palm Pvt. Ltd. was terminated. To float the expression of interest of empanelment of companies implementing partner would soon be done,’ Kikon informed.
He added that Nagaland has a suitable agro-climatic condition along the foothill areas.
Dr. RK Mathur, Director of Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research, Andhra Pradesh, suggested scientific mapping of the potential cultivation areas of oil palm plantation.
‘Try to get the compact areas for cultivation and work on water harvesting. Select material based on the climatic condition and identify the land,’ he suggested while inviting the participants to visit the institute and assured all possible support to the state.