Sources say that the National Missions on Edible Oils have sensitized. Two National Missions on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) Business Summit for states were held recently, the latest in Hyderabad in December last year and another one prior to that, in Guwahati in October 2021.
According to the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, there will be no shortage of resources for the successful implementation of the National Mission on Edible Oil – Oil Palm.
The Union Agriculture Minister said that under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, the Government is working to make India self-reliant in the field of palm oil. It is to be noted that currently around 3 lakh hectares of land is under palm oil cultivation. Meanwhile, various studies have shown that about 28 lakh hectares of land is suitable for oil palm cultivation in the country. Mr Tomar said that the government is on a mission to bring the 28 lakh hectares of land under cultivation to make India self-reliant in edible oil.
To make the mission a success, the Central Government, signed MoU’s with nine state governments for ‘Viability Gap Payment’ and finalized revised ‘Annual Action Plans (AAPs)’ of 11 states, thus incorporating the new provisions of the Mission. The Central Government organized National Workshop on Oil Palm in Arunachal Pradesh, in December 2021, as a subtopic of the Crop Diversification Programme.
Annual Action Plans (AAPs) of eleven states, which is worth Rs 106.90 crore, were approved for area expansion in 6,563 hectares, replanting in 3058 hectares, maintenance and mixed cropping in 25,197 hectares of existing and new oil palm orchards. The drip irrigation facility in 1,569 hectares of palm orchards was also approved. Four Palm Oil Processing Mills were also proposed to be established in Northeastern states, which will receive subsidies from the Mission.
In addition to that, three seed gardens and thirty-nine nurseries will also be created for increasing the availability of seed sprouts and seedlings. Furthermore, 360 Vermicompost sheds for the production of quality organic manure and 18 custom hiring centers for renting various garden tools will also be made operational in the current year. Later on, a meeting was held with Indian Ambassadors of major oil palm sprouts exporting countries to ensure the uninterrupted supply of quality planting materials in large quantities.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Kailash Choudhary said that at present, the country has to import edible oil. The business summit will prove to be extremely important in order to find a solution to the issue of importing. Expressing his complete confidence in the Mission, Shri Kailash Choudhary said that with the help of scientists’ research, farmers’ hard work and the government’s support, the mission will achieve its objective and will make a significant contribution in making India self-reliant in the field.
He further went on to say that in order to boost the edible oil production in the country, remunerative prices and assured procurement of oilseed crops is being done by the Central Government.
It should be noted that India’s edible oil import jumped 75% to reach Rs 1,04,354 crore in April-December 2021 of the current fiscal, which was Rs 59,543 crore in the same period, just a year ago. During the first nine months, i.e., April-December 2020 of the last fiscal, India had imported edible oils worth Rs 59,543 crore.
Our dependencies on imports have helped edible oil-producing and exporting countries, and their oilseed growers get premium prices for their commodities. We are making them prosperous while India continues to be the single largest importer of edible oils in the world. As per the data, India fulfils 60 per cent of its domestic requirement of edible oil through imports.
Keeping in mind the issue in hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a national mission to develop an environment in the country that will help in raising the domestic production of oils – edible oil and palm oil by investing more than Rs 11,000 crore.
