To boost non-edible oil production and manufacturing of value-added agro products, the Agriculture Department is ready with a financial assistance package for bringing more area under the cultivation of ‘tree-borne oil seeds’ during the current financial year.
This year, it has also been decided to promote inter-cropping too on a larger scale while carrying out the expansion of the cultivation of tree-borne oil seeds varieties like Azadirachta Indica (popularly known as neem) and Pongamia Pinnata (popularly known as karanj or pungan).
The inter-cropping with pulses, millets, and groundnut will be helping farmers to augment the income multi-fold from the unit area.
Officials told The Hindu that ₹ 8.38 lakh had been earmarked towards the distribution of various assistances for the initiatives to increase tree-borne oil seeds acreage and also for the inter-cropping activities.
The farmers will be getting assistance at the rate of ₹ 17,000 per hectare towards subsidising cost of plantating materials and land devlopment in the case of neem and 20,000 per ha for karanj/pungan.
A total of 400 neem plants could be raised in every hectare of land and 500 karanj/punan plants per hectare by the beneficiary farmers.
Officials said the farmers chosen under the area expansion initiative would be ones having barren lands.
On the benefits of raising tree-borne oil seeds, the officials added that non-edible oil and many value-added products like lamp oil and organic medicinal items could be manufactured from the crops.
