KOLASIB, India -- Environmentalists, academics, social activists and farmers in India are opposing a government plan to expand palm oil production in northeastern border states because they believe it will not benefit farmers and harm the environment.
"I hardly earn 30,000 rupees ($400) yearly profit after spending on fertilizers, pesticides, laborers and transport," said Lalchhana Hmar, 70, who grows fresh fruit bunches (FFB) of oil palm. His village in Kolasib, a district in Mizoram State, is close to Myanmar.
