Hyderabad, July 19 -- Telangana Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has urged the agriculture ministers of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh to jointly press the Centre to safeguard the interests of oil palm farmers by ensuring a minimum support price (MSP) and other policy measures.

Tummala writes to counterparts in southern states

In separate letters addressed to his counterparts on Saturday, the minister said the southern states play a crucial role in achieving India's edible oil self-sufficiency, but oil palm farmers are facing severe uncertainty due to fluctuating prices of fresh fruit bunches (FFBs), international crude palm oil prices and import duties.

He called on the Union government to take immediate po...