The government of Arunachal Pradesh is selling the idea that palm oil cultivation is the next big thing for the development of the state after the hydropower and tourism sector.
The agriculture department on Tuesday organized a workshop in a bid to give the final push to the implementation of the multi-crore oil palm plantation project in the Northeast region. Speaking at the event, Agriculture & Horticulture Minister Tage Taki dismissed the scientific reports on oil palm cultivation causing adverse environmental impact. The state government is eyeing the Rs 11,000 crore announced by the center to boost oil palm plantation in the Northeast and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
It is worrying to see Agriculture Minister Tage Taki dismissing the environmental concern as a hoax. Mr Taki is a retired engineer and comes from a science background. He should be well aware of how palm oil cultivation causes serious damage to the environment. Countries like Indonesia and Malaysia have suffered from it and are now slowly giving up palm oil cultivation.
Environmentalists argue that the farming of oil palm trees is having damaging effects on the environment. The cutting and burning down of forests and trees to clear land to plant oil palm trees is a big challenge to the environment. Burning down of forests leads to a loss of biodiversity, an increase in air pollution, and climate change. In countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, the expert observed increasing land scarcity, rising land prices and conflicts over land in all sites due to palm oil cultivation.
In an eco-sensitive state like Arunachal, the state government should be careful while encouraging palm oil cultivation. More research should be carried out to examine what kind of adverse impact it might have and how those challenges can be mitigated. Rushing things will not be in the interest of the state in long run.