Guwahati, Oct 6 (PTI): Buoyed by the Centre's plan to push oil palm cultivation in the northeast region, 3F Oil Palm is planning to expand its operations in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh with an investment of Rs 1,750 crore in the next five years, a company official said on Wednesday.
The expansion of cultivation area of the agro commodity was proposed under the centrally sponsored National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Palm (NPEO-OP), the company's managing director and CEO Sanjay Goenka told reporters here.
"We are set to invest Rs 1,750 crore in oil palm farming in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and planning to increase the area under cultivation to 62,000 hectares in the next five years," he said.
Elaborating on the plan, Goenka said the company will increase its oil palm cultivated area in Arunachal Pradesh from 2,000 hectares to an additional 30,000 hectares and invest Rs 750 crore.
It will create employment opportunities for 3,000 people in the next five years, he said, adding that the company has planned to commission an oil palm processing unit in the state by the 2022-23 fiscal.
In Assam, it will pump in Rs 1,000 crore to add 30,000 hectares of cultivated land and this can provide employments to 2,000 people, Goenka said.
The investment will be made to develop an integrated oil palm project, comprising nursery operations, crop maintenance, fresh fruit bunches harvesting and collection, processing and refining, power plant, and ancillary farmer services, he said.
"The Centre's policy has encouraged us to expand. We geared up to make strategic investments and ramp up operations in other states that have the potential in oil palm cultivation," he said.
The increase in cultivated area of the agro commodity in the country will help reduce the import of edible oil and the northeast will play a crucial role in the endeavour, Goenka added. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
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