India to Spend $1.5B to Help Farmers Grow Palm Oil
September 2, 2015http://www.gulf-times.com/eco.-bus.%20news/256/details/451647/-india-to-spend-$1.5bn-to-help-farmers-grow-palm-oil-trees
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India plans to spend $1.5 billion in the next three years to help farmers grow oil palm trees, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushing to make the nation self-sufficient in edible oils this decade.
A successful Indian push into palm cultivation would affect international demand for the commodity. Palm, the highest-yielding perennial edible oil crop, needs only a fraction of the area used by other oilseeds, making it suitable for India, a country where land is scarce.
However, India still does not recognize oil palm as a plantation crop, prohibiting large-scale cultivation by companies. One of the reasons for the rule is the fear that corporations would take over large tracts of land at the cost of other crops.
This specific rule, together with the gestation period of palm, have stymied previous efforts to switch to the crop, putting off local farmers as well as companies. The government now hopes that its $1.5 billion backing and the direct support from Modi will make the difference.
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