Preamble
India is the third largest producer of vegetable oil in the world with an area of 27.26 million hectares producing 26.70 million MT oil seeds which yield 6.8 million MT of vegetable oil with a shortage of 5 million MT annually which is imported as palm oil, soya oil etc., at a cost of Rs. 10,000 crores. Realizing the importance of oil palm (yielding 4-6 tons crude palm oil/ha/year) in the vegetable oil economy, the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India introduced Oil Palm in Technology Mission Oil (TMO), which later became TMOP. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of farmers through the three large scale demonstrations by Dept. of Bio technology (DBT) jointly with Ministry of Agriculture, GOI. in three states , the Government of India envisaged a massive Oil Palm Development Programme (OPDP) to bring 80,000 ha during VIII Five Year Plan, of which 36000 were brought under cultivation as small holders crop. In the subsequent IX, X plans 80,000 and 50,000 hectares, respectively were targeted . However ,only 87,211 ha were brought under cultivation in AP (53,370 ha), Karnataka (12,398 ha) Tamil Nadu (14,893 ha) other states (6350 ha). Unexpectedly there was a setback in area expansion due to price fall in 1999-2000, and some area was also uprooted . As on date almost 65,000 ha oil palm is in the field at various phases of yielding. The performance of oil palm under irrigated conditions as a small holder crop has been very good with yields as high as 40 t FFB/ha/year ( 8 ton oil/ha) which is the highest yield by any standard. The lowest being 5 t FFB/ha / year due to inadequate management. Encouraged by the recent hike in the price (Rs 4500 /ton FFB), a large number of farmers are coming forward to take up oil palm which they perceive as a most profitable crop in present day. During XI Plan it is envisaged to cover 2,24 000 ha under oil palm.
There are 16 processors already identified by respective state governments with a processing capacity of 114.8 MT/hour. Many more are coming forward to take up oil palm Development and Procesing. The spectacular growth has also brought out many issues of production, pest and diseases, cropping systems, harvest and post harvest losses, Oil Extraction Ratio, income generation, employment potential and import substitution. With an agenda to address the new emerging issues of the newly introduced crop and for a sustainable production and productivity, the Society for Promotion of Oil Palm Research and Development (SOPOPRAD ) and National Research Centre for Oil Palm (NRCOP) is organizing a National Conference on Oil Palm with a theme “Oil palm for farmers’ prosperity and edible oil security”. Where in the emerging issue will be deliberated and the road map, to achieve the 1 Million ha of oil palm envisaged by the expert committee in various states of the country to produce 3-4 million tonnes of crude Palm Oil and 0.3 to 0.4 million tonnes of kernel oil (Lauric oil), will be drawn. This conference aims to bring researchers and promoters from various countries into the country and to share their knowledge on oil palm productivity, processing, value addition, product diversification, health and nutrition etc.
The conference will be attended by growers, processors, scientists, developmental workers, planners and policy makers. It is firmly hoped that the conference will create confidence for growers and processors and the country to march ahead towards self sufficiency in vegetable oils.
Theme areas
The conference will have 7 Technical Sessions wherein, invited, oral and poster papers on the following theme areas highlighting the Oil Palm Research and Development, Processing and Utility will be presented and discussed. Breeding strategies to increase Oil yield, biotic and abiotic stresses. Biotechnology for improvement and planting material production. Seed production in Oil Palm. Increasing the productivity of Oil Palm. Precision farming and good agronomic practices. Oil Palm based cropping system. Organic residue recycling and utilization. Integrated pest, disease and weed management. Product diversification, value addition and bi-product utilization. Strategies to improve OER. Development of policies and issue.
In addition to the above programme a Ministerial Workshop will also be organized by inviting the planner and policy makers in Agriculture and Horticulture like, Secretaries and Production Commissioners of Oil Palm growing states, members of farmers’ association, Producers’ Association and research heads. This will help to understand the present problems in OPDP implementation such as seed production, seed import, setting up of new seed gardens, area expansion and identifying additional potential areas and processors. A field visit is also envisaged on 05.02.2008 to visit National Researrch Centre for Oil Palm, Pedavegi, some farmers fields and Processing units.
Call for Papers
Lead Papers
Invited Experts from Malaysia , Indonesia, Thailand, Coasta Rica, Cote d’ Ivorie, etc will present papers on various aspects of successful Oil Palm cultivation and processing.
Oral Presentation
Abstracts of original research relevant to the above theme areas may be prepared in A4 format with Times New Roman with font size 12 for the text and 14 for the title in MS word. The abstract in not more than 300 words may be sent through email specifying theme area on or before 15th December, 2007.
Poster Presentation
For display, 1.0 x 1.0 m space will be provided for each poster which should bebrief but self explanatory.
● The title should be in capitals and bold in characters
● Author/ Co-authors names and address of the organization should be given
● Poster should have tabular and graphical mode of presentationwith clear photographs
● Poster should have introduction, methodology, results and discussion
followed by a few selected references
Registration
The enclosed Registration Form duly filled in should reach the organizingSecretary, National Conference on Oil Palm, on or before 31st December,2007.You can Register through net also.
Important Dates
Last date for receipt of Abstracts : 15th December,
2007Communication of Acceptance : 7th January, 2008
Date of receipt of full paper : 31st January, 2008
Venue
The National Conference will be held at Hotel Fortune Murali Park, Vijayawada,located on the banks of River Krishna, which is a big business centre. A Durgatemple is located in the city and the Dwaraka Tirumala, which is also knownas “Chinna Thirupati” is located at 70 km distance are famousn Hindureligious centres. From the venue to NRC FOR OIL PALM you can Oil Palmplantations and Processing units. The climate is pleasant during Februarywith temperatures ranging between 20 and 330 C. Cotton clothes will becomfortable.
Accommodation
Accommodation will be arranged at Vijayawada, which have hotels suitablefor varying budgets. The Hotel Tariff ranges from Rs. 400 to Rs. 2000/- (AC).The delegates will be taken in AC buses from hotels to conference venuedaily.
Correspondence and Enquiry
Dr. V. M. Reddy,
Organizing Secretary,
National Conference on Oil Palm,
National Research Centre for Oil Palm (ICAR),
Pedavegi 534 450,West Godavari Dist.,
Andhra Pradesh.
Phones : 08812 259532, Mobile : 98663 24674,
Fax : 08812 259531
