NAHARLAGUN, 4 Sep: Agriculture Minister Gabriel D Wangsu highlighted issues of concern over large-scale cultivation of oil palm and called for a long-term state-specific research and an environmentally and socially responsible oil palm cultivation policy in the state.
He said this during a capacity building programme on sustainable palm oil production in Arunachal, organised by the agriculture directorate here, in association with New Delhi-based Centre for Responsible Business (CRB), the World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India), and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) on Tuesday.
The minister emphasised the need for a comprehensive approach to sustainable palm oil production that addresses environmental, economic and social aspects, as well as the critical issue of human-animal conflict in oil palm plantations.
“Sustainable palm oil production will be a crucial component of Arunachal Pradesh’ agricultural and economic development, but it must be approached with great care and responsibility,” he said.
Experts from the WWF-India, the RSPO and the CRB delivered in-depth presentations on various aspects of sustainable palm oil production, including environmental, economic and social considerations, as well as the critical issue of human-animal conflict in oil palm plantations.
Additionally, two progressive oil palm farmers from Assam and Andhra Pradesh shared their experiences and best practices with the participants.
The workshop was aimed at paving the way for developing Arunachal’s farm policies to promote sustainable production, and to creating safeguards for natural resources.
The meeting highlighted that palm oil can be produced sustainably by incorporating principles such as protection of high conservation value areas, as well as jurisdictional approaches. The three organisations said they are eager to work with the state government in developing policy frameworks for the state.
Among others, the workshop was attended by WWF-India Ecological Footprint Senior Director Suresh Babu; RSPO Market Transformation (India & China) Deputy Director Ashwin Selvaraj; Agriculture Director Dani Yubbe, and CRB programme officer Bhavya Sharma.
Officers from the agriculture department, an oil palm farmers’ organisation from Papum Pare district, and a representative from Patanjali Foods Ltd also attended it. (DIPR)
