India’s olive experiment take off in Rajasthan this week
Can India become a major producer and exporter of olive oil?
50,000 sapling of various varieties will be planted near Jaipur to find the Variety most suitable to India.
By Siddhartha Sarma,
The agriculture board of a desert state, a micro-irrigation firm, and an Israeli company think so. Later this week, 50,000 olive saplings of various varieties will be planted near Jaipur in Rajasthan, part of a field test to check whether this belief translates into reality.
After all, olive trees do not grow in India.
If the Jaipur experiment succeeds, the variety most adaptable to Indian conditions will be selected in June. And one million olive saplings of this variety will be sold to farmers in areas around the city by Rajasthan Olive Cultivation Ltd, a company in which the three partners behind the effort— Rajasthan State Agriculture Board, Plastro Plasson of Pune and Indolive Ltd—have equal stakes.
Plastro Plasson Industries (India) Ltd is a joint venture between India and Israel in the area of micro-irrigation between Finolex Ltd of India and two Israeli companies, Plastro and Plasson. Indolive is an Israeli firm, partly funded by the government of that country, that promotes agricultural techniques.
“A project such as this, where a new kind of tree is being introduced in a water-scarce environment, hinges on the irrigation system used. So the olive project is as much about drip irrigation as it is about transforming Rajasthan into a major olive grower,” said Lior Weintraub, a spokesman for the Israel embassy here.
“The main reason the project was considered for Rajasthan was the similarities in climate and cultivation problems in the state and Israel. However, there are major differences in soil and other factors which will have to be addressed,” he added.
A general agreement to promote olive cultivation was signed by Israel and the Rajasthan government in November 2006. The two governments took a year to finalize the details of this initiative and a joint venture agreement was signed in November 2007.
“The results (of the field tests) will show which variety adapts itself best to Rajasthan’s climate and soil, after which more of the saplings will be brought. A total of 120,000 saplings will be placed at various nurseries in the first phase,” said Mika Harari of Indolive, a company which has successfully cultivated olives in southern Israel.
The trials will be carried out on 250ha, said Rajasthan State Agriculture Marketing Board, or RSAMB. The plants will be irrigated by the very latest in drip irrigation techniques, the method of direct injection in which the roots are directly watered and nutrients added simultaneously.
“This saves 40% more water than older drip irrigation methods,” Weintraub said. He claimed that this method, called “drip-ferti” irrigation, was behind the production of 2.8 tonnes of olive oil per ha in Israel, a productivity rate that the project’s overseers hope to duplicate in Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan government is seeking to woo farmers to try out olives.
“The farmers are being made aware of the market for olive oil, both domestic and export. The irrigation systems might be provided at a lower rate so that small farmers are also able to access it,” said RSAMB chairman Vipin Kumar Sharma.
Olive oil is a healthy alternative to other edible oils and the market for it around the world continues to grow. It is currently priced at around Rs800 per litre compared with groundnut oil, another popular cooking medium which is priced at Rs53-55 per litre. Around 3.2 million tonnes of olive oil is manufactured worldwide.
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Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 2:25 pm under
Dear Sir,
April 6th, 2008 at 11:05 pmwe want to experiment for olive plantation in West bengal , area- hilly terrain in the western part & red laterite in the central part of Bankura district lat 23.14N ,lon 87.07E mainly barren land or cultivable waste land or fallow land , soil type- red or laterite, soil structure- any of sandy or sandy loam or loamy and climatic condition is dry, minimum temp 6-10C, maximum approx 35-40C, annual rainfall 1200- 1500 mm.please inform me about some suitable variety and where we will get it.
thanking you
best regards
aniruddha
Dear sir, I am also interested in experimenting the olive oil plantation on my own land this season in Kanigiri area of Prakasam /district Andhra Pradesh which is dry land Temp go upto 50 degree C during summer and a Min of 15 degree C during winter.If any body wants to help in this , kindly reply me how to get the seeds for 20 acres of land immediatly.
Thanking you,
Sincerely
B R REDDY
May 21st, 2008 at 1:04 amKavali, Nellore Dt AP
0 94405 05230
E MAIL: renureddy68@gmail.com
Dear sir, I am also interested in experimenting the olive oil plantation on my own land this season in gujarat gandhinagar kindly reply me how to get the seeds for 20 acres of land immediatly.
June 18th, 2008 at 4:50 amDear Sir, I want to plant olive in Mahendargarh,Haryana . Where can i get the sapplings?
June 25th, 2008 at 3:54 amDear sir,
I am also interested in experimenting the olive oil plantation on my own land this season in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, kindly reply me how to get the seeds/ plant saplings for 20 acres of land immediatly.
Arun Kumar
July 19th, 2008 at 5:18 amDear Mr. Siddhartha,
It was interesting read your above article. I am into Organic Community based Farming. I have recently started this initiative with fellow villagers about 150 kms from Bangalore. The idea cropped to my mind when I inherited a small pocket of land and began growing things there mostly for the family back in Bangalore. I now mentor fellow villagers and help them with agricultural initiatives. Most of my help is in the form of educating them about best practices in farming, newer crops for farming etc…. Although not a farmer myself I believe in healthy living. I would appreciate if you could share with me some information of Olive varities, the initiative in Rajastan( may be a write-up which I can translate for them) and the weather conditions required to grow them. Also any information on whom to contact will help some of these farmers take newer initiatives down here in the south.
Look forward to hear from you.
Best Regards,
July 30th, 2008 at 3:24 amGurudeep Ramakrishna
Sir,
January 25th, 2009 at 6:10 amI am person who is interested in olive oil for all its health benefits .I come from the Kollegal district in the state of Karnataka. The land here is dependent on the rain and ground water which is quickly depleting. I am interested in growing olives not only in my land but to encourage others from this area who struggle to make a living out of their small holdings. I would appreciate it if you could let me know which are varieties of olive, which is best suited for this region, and alo how to and where to procure the same f4rom.
thanking you, and hoping to get a quick reply.
honnappa
Dear sir,
I am also interested in experimenting the olive oil plantation on my own land this season in Udaipur, Rajasthan, kindly reply me how to get the seeds/ plant saplings for 15 acres of land immediatly.
Please let me know if udaipur climatic conditions suits for olive farming and yield per tree.
Shinod Lukose
January 26th, 2009 at 3:06 amdear sir,
February 5th, 2009 at 8:38 pmi’m 4rom u p, district pilibhit.i’m interested in growing olives in my area. i’ve 500 acres of land.please do contact us.
Sir,
I am interested in experimenting the olive oil plantation on my own land which is located in Pali District of Rajasthan, kindly reply me how to get started for 35 acres of land immediatly.
Regards,
February 17th, 2009 at 3:19 amHardik Chhajed
Sir,
Quite an interesting article, am interested in obtaining some saplings for planting in Karantaka, could you please put me in touch with pertinent people? thanks
regards
February 18th, 2009 at 12:47 amroger maruliah
I am interested in experimenting the olive oil plantation on my own land which is located in suratgarh District of Rajasthan, kindly reply me how to get started for 80 acres of land immediatly.
February 28th, 2009 at 4:38 amDear Sir,
I have few hundred acres of land in Gujarat, and am very interested in working with olives.
Can you please let me know what temparture and resources are needed to plant the olive trees.
I want to know what region of gujarat this product is suitable for.
March 4th, 2009 at 2:05 pmDear sir,
I am also interested in experimenting the olive oil plantation on my own land this season in Ajmer, Rajasthan, kindly reply me how to get the seeds/ plant saplings for 20 acres of land immediatly.
vivek mantri
March 5th, 2009 at 9:42 am9992019997
ajmer
rajasthan
Dear Sir,
I like to plant Olive in Maharashtra, could you tll me where about I can get seeds/sapling in India please.I have planted a sapling few days ago bought from the UK but I would like to plant them in 20 acres.
Please let me know as soon as possible.
Thanks and regards
Ramesh
March 12th, 2009 at 4:58 pmDear sir, I am also interested in experimenting the olive oil plantation on my own land this season in Hindupur area of Anantapur district Andhra Pradesh which is dry land Temp go upto45 degree C during summer and a Min of 20 degree C during winter.If any body wants to help in this , kindly reply me how to get the seeds for 20 acres of land immediatly.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:21 amSir,
i am from southern part of india. i would like to take the trial in olive plantation. so can you suggest me that where do we get the seeds in india.
with regards
shiva
May 4th, 2009 at 11:43 pmshivkuma@yahoo.com
Sir,
i am from city-Udaipur of Rajasthan state of india. i would like to take the trial in olive plantation. so kindly suggest which company will support us
with regards
Bhaskar jain
Cell No. 00919928766466
May 9th, 2009 at 3:19 amDear Sir,
I would like to plant olive, may I know the availability of seeds,where can I get the seedlings.
Regards,
May 13th, 2009 at 4:50 amSuresh.
Dear sir, I am also interested in experimenting the olive oil plantation on my own land this season in vellore, tamil nadu
kindly reply me how to get the seeds for 25 acres of land immediatly
thanking you
vishwanath
09341215703
vishwanath108@gmail.com
May 18th, 2009 at 1:46 amWe make available our technical service for advice on the cultivation of olives.
Sl Agrolainez and children.
May 19th, 2009 at 12:14 amZaragoza Spain
saurabh yadav
Sir,
i am from Jaipur of Rajasthan state of india. i would like to do business in olive plantation. so kindly suggest me the viabiliy in Rajasthan.
with regards
09829191691
May 24th, 2009 at 5:58 amWE ARE INTERESTED IN COMMERCIAL FARMING OF OLIVES IN RAJISTHAN.WE WISH TO INVEST IN 500 ACRES ,KINDLY ADVICE NUMBER OF PLANTS REQUIRED AND INVESTMENT ALONG WITH WHEN IS THE RETURN EXPECTED ALONG WITH SOME INOVATIVE FUTERISTIC PLANNING OF PROCESSING THE SAME HERE.
May 29th, 2009 at 4:11 amREGARDS/RAJIV
9810219099.
Dear Sir,
We would like to bring to your notice a fruit called JALPAI(olive) available in North bengal. Well if this olive can grow in the area why not try out the oil olive. Plenty of land is available and the soil condition is also good. We have a tea garden in this area and can try to cultivate the olive on experimental basis. Please help me source the plants / seeds. for the experiment.
regards
June 7th, 2009 at 1:25 amamar agarwal
I am Intrested In OLIVE Farming and OLIVEOIL processing can you help me.I have land and money both for Investment I am looking for Farming.
June 16th, 2009 at 1:08 pmTHANKING YOU