Oil Palm Mission kept in silent mode
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, January 10 2023:
Even though the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm was introduced in North East India including Manipur with huge investment and high hope of slashing import of edible oil fro, the mission remains in complete silence in Manipur.
Under the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm mission, plantation of oil palm started for the first time in Manipur in Jiribam district.
Even though Central government had released necessary fund for the mission, the state government is yet to release the fund to farmers and this has left oil palm farmers in a dilemma and some of them have even decided to stop the oil palm plantation.
An oil palm farmer from Jiribam informed The People's Chronicle that demonstration and adaptive trials through Jiribam District Sub-divisional Agriculture Officer started from the year 2020 in Jiribam as per the directive of the Government of India to start oil palm mission for the first time in Manipur.
After getting farm training at Kolasib farm in Mizoram with the technical supervision of Godrej Agrovet, farmers of Jiribam planted 5,500 oil palm saplings under the supervision of state's agriculture department in 2021-22.During awareness programmes conducted for oil palm plantation, experts clearly pointed out that Central government will bear all the financial expenses for taking up oil palm plantation including money incurred in purchasing fertilizer, seeds for inter-cropping, clearing grass, preparation of vermi compost units and fencing.
However, oil palm farmers of Jiribam are yet to get any amount till date, the farmer informed.
According to the farmer, time for application of fertilizer to the already planted oil palm saplings had lapsed while farmers are facing hard time in protecting the vegetables and fruit plants growing in between rows of oil palm trees.
When asked reason for non distribution of fund, Central government officials informed that necessary fund for the mission in respect of oil palm farmers of Manipur had already been released, the farmer revealed, adding that many farmers of Jiribam are now reluctant to take up oil palm plantation in view of the indifferent attitude of officials concerned.
A complaint was lodged to the state agriculture department in 2022 for releasing the requisite fund for oil palm farmers but there has been no response and this indicates that Manipur government has no interest in the oil palm mission, the farmer opined, adding that a complaint in this regard will be lodged to the Central government.