Is palmarosa farming a good option and what is the oil yield and market?

Palmarosa is an aromatic grass grown for palmarosa essential oil, which is valued for its geraniol content and used in perfumery, soaps, cosmetics and aroma products. It is a hardy, drought tolerant perennial that suits warm climates and rainfed, light, well drained soils, and like lemongrass it gives multiple cuttings per year over several years (commonly around 4 to 5 years). Oil recovery is low, typically in the rough range of about 0.3 to 0.7 percent of fresh herb, distilled from the grass, sometimes after partial wilting which can improve geraniol. Income depends on grass tonnage, oil recovery, geraniol percentage (buyers pay more for higher geraniol) and the market oil price, all of which vary, so treat any income figure as indicative and build your own from a confirmed buyer rate. It needs a distillation unit, so the same advice applies as for lemongrass: share or custom-hire a still rather than buying one as a small grower, and lock in an oil buyer first. Palmarosa is a solid choice for hot, dry, marginal land if and only if you have the distillation and buyer side organised. Verify the buyer, the geraniol spec they want, and price in writing before scaling.