The Telangana state government is investing heavily in the crop, but experts remain sceptical.
To reduce dependence on imports, the federal government last year had launched the Palm Oil Mission, with a budget of 110bn rupees to increase the land under cultivation across 17 states.
It will also use 25%-30% less water than paddy, reducing the government expenditure on electricity subsidy, says Kranthi Kumar Reddy, general secretary of the National Oil Palm Farmers Association. Oil palms need moisture in the air and most of Telangana has dry land that does not receive adequate rainfall, says Dr Ramanjaneyulu, the executive director of Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.
, several have switched back after suffering losses due to the lack of a guaranteed minimum price for their harvest, Mr Reddy says.