In Pedavegi, a non-descript dot on the map of West Godavari district in what was then undivided Andhra Pradesh, an act of symbolism took root, literally, way back in 1986. Then Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao knelt on a patch of farmland and planted a palm sapling. At that point, it may have seemed like just another photo op. But that simple act would outgrow its moment in history, rooting itself into the soil, and the future, of two States.
Four decades later, that one sapling has morphed into a sweeping oil palm culture that now sustains thousands of farmers across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
