Manipur partners with Patanjali to boost oil palm cultivation

Guwahati: Patanjali Foods Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Manipur government to implement the Oil Palm Plantation Program under the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).

The agreement, signed on Wednesday in Imphal, takes a significant step toward boosting oil palm cultivation in the state, covering four districts in a phased approach.

Director of Agriculture, Government of Manipur, Peter Salam, and Head of Northeast Oil Palm Operations, Patanjali Foods Limited, Ashok Kumar Singh, formally signed the MoU in the presence of Arun Kumar Sinha, Principal Secretary of Agriculture, Government of Manipur.

Senior officials from Patanjali Foods Limited, including Subhas Bhattacharjee, Advisor, and Tapas Kumar Tripathi, Deputy General Manager, also attended the event.

Under the agreement, Patanjali Foods Limited will begin its operations on April 1, 2025, covering approximately 2,700 hectares for oil palm plantations in Manipur during the first year.

The initiative will initially focus on three districts – Imphal East, Thoubal, and Kakching, with Bishnupur district in the second phase.

With this MoU, Patanjali Foods Limited expands its oil palm plantation operations into six Northeastern states actively implementing NMEO-OP.

In the fiscal year 2024-25, the company will cover 10,000 hectares of oil palm plantations across the Northeast and aims to expand to 20,000 hectares in fiscal year 2025-26.

This flagship initiative of the Government of India aims to bring significant economic benefits to farmers in Manipur by promoting sustainable oil palm cultivation and enhancing self-reliance in edible oil production under the NMEO-OP program.