Indian state bets big on oil palm to cut US$19bil vegoil imports

Workers prepare oil palm seedlings at a nursery in Khammam district, in southern state of Telangana, India, July 12, 2022. - Reuters

SATHUPALLY, India: Pullarao Daravathu and thousands of fellow farmers from Telangana in India's south are busy planting oil palms as their home state aims to add more area under the controversial crop within four years than the entire country has in decades.

Telangana is targeting 2 million additional acres under oil palm cultivation in the next four years, and is going to great lengths to achieve this goal - from building large dams and irrigation canals to importing millions of germinated sprouts.