BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao visited oil-palm farmers in Repaka village, Jayashankar Bhupalapalli district, on 8 July 2026, to assess their welfare and highlight what he described as the Congress-led Telangana government's dismantling of agricultural programmes promoted by the previous BRS regime.

Posting on X in Telugu, KTR wrote: 'జయశంకర్ భూపాలపల్లి జిల్లా రేపాక గ్రామంలో ఆయిల్‌పామ్ రైతులను కలిసి వారి బాగోగులు అడిగి తెలుసుకున్నాను' ('I met oil-palm farmers in Repaka village of Jayashankar Bhupalapalli district and inquired about their well-being'). He added that the BRS government had widely promoted oil-palm cultivation as an alternative crop for farmers and to reduce edible-oil imports — and that the Revanth Reddy administration is now 'neutralising all those programmes.'

Context

Jayashankar Bhupalapalli is a northern Telangana district where oil-palm cultivation gained ground under state-backed incentive schemes. The visit, accompanied by photographs of KTR meeting farmers in the field, is part of a broader outreach effort by BRS to stay visible in rural constituencies after losing power in December 2023.

The post includes a link to a full video of the interaction, signalling a structured campaign rather than a routine visit. KTR has positioned the trip as ground-level fact-finding ahead of what observers expect will be intensified political activity before local body polls.

Policy Backdrop

Between 2014 and 2023, the BRS government under K. Chandrashekar Rao ran oil-palm area-expansion programmes that offered subsidies and buy-back assurances to farmers willing to shift away from paddy. The stated twin goals were to diversify cropping patterns and reduce India's heavy dependence on imported edible oils — a national priority also reflected in the central government's National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).

After the Congress swept the 2023 Telangana assembly elections, BRS leaders have repeatedly alleged that the new administration has discontinued or diluted flagship agricultural schemes. The oil-palm sector has become one of the focal points of this criticism, with farmers caught between shifting policy signals from the state.

Stakeholders and Impact

Oil-palm farmers in districts like Jayashankar Bhupalapalli are among the most directly affected. Unlike seasonal crops, oil palm is a long-gestation perennial that requires years of investment before it yields commercially viable returns, making policy continuity especially critical for growers who have already committed land and capital.

If state-level procurement support or subsidies are wound down, these farmers face the dual risk of being locked into a crop with limited open-market buyers and losing the income support that made the switch from paddy viable in the first place. The broader edible-oil import bill — which runs into tens of thousands of crore rupees annually — is also a national-level concern that any state-level policy reversal could indirectly worsen.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to the Telangana agriculture department's orders on oil-palm subsidies and procurement arrangements for the 2026-27 season. The Revanth Reddy government has not publicly responded to KTR's specific allegations about programme discontinuation.

If BRS sustains this farmer-outreach campaign, it could translate into organised rallies in agrarian northern Telangana — a region that has historically been a stronghold for the party and will be keenly contested in upcoming local body elections. The government's response, or silence, on oil-palm policy will be watched closely by both farmers and political analysts.