Self-reliance in Oil Palm Cultivation
The production of oilseeds in the country has increased substantially during the last three years from 31.52 million tonnes (MT) in 2018-19 to 37.15 MT in 2021-22, as per 2nd Advance Estimates, Directorate of Economics and Statistics. The estimated production of soyabean is 13.12 MT during 2021-22 compared to the production of 12.61 MT during 2020-21.
However, to meet local demand, during 2020-21, India imported around 13.35 MT of edible oils costing around Rs 80,000 crore.
Out of all the imported edible oils, the share of palm oil is about 56 per cent, followed by soyabean oil at 27 per cent, and sunflower at 16 per cent. Domestic edible oil production has not been able to keep pace with the uptick in consumption which is above 25 MT. The per capita consumption, which was 15.8 kg per person per annum in 2012-13, has increased to around 19 kg at present. During 2020-21, the domestic production of edible oils was
12.29 MT.
The government has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, National Food Security Mission- Oilseeds & Oil palm (NFSMOS&OP) from 2018-19 onwards to increase the production and productivity of oilseeds in the country. Now, the government has launched a separate Mission for Oil Palm namely National Mission on Edible Oils (Oil Palm) - NMEO (OP) in 2021-22. Both NFSM- Oilseeds and NMEO (OP) are being implemented in the country with the objective of augmenting the availability of edible oils by increasing the production and productivity of oilseeds and oil palm and reducing the import burden. In April 2022, the government released the operational guidelines for NMEO (OP) (2021-22 to 2025-26).
The salient features of NMEO (OP) include assistance for planting material, inputs for intercropping upto gestation period of 4 years and for maintenance, establishment of seed gardens, nurseries, micro irrigation, bore well/pumpset/water harvesting structure, vermicompost units, solar pumps, harvesting tools, custom hiring centre cum harvester Groups, farmers and officers training, and for replanting of old oil palm gardens etc.*
The Reassessment Committee of Icarindian Institute of Oil Palm Research (IIOPR) 2020 has assessed around 28 lakh hectares (ha) potential for oil palm cultivation. As per ICARIIOPR, oil palm requires less water compared to crops like rice, banana and sugarcane for its optimum cultivation. Under the Mission, emphasis has been given to promote micro irrigation and water conservation in oil palm for efficient water management and judicious use of water.
With quality planting material, irrigation and proper management, oil palm has the potential to produce 20-25 metric tonnes fresh fruit bunches (FFBS) per hectare after attaining the age of 8- 9 years. In comparative terms, the yield of palm oil is 5 times the yield of edible oil obtainable from traditional oilseeds. So the focus is on oil palm.
The total approved cost of the NMEO (OP) Scheme is Rs 11,040 crore, out of which Rs 8,844 crore is central share and Rs 2,196 crore state share. For implementing this scheme the government has already released Rs 341.22 crore in 2018-19, Rs 317.57 crore in 2019-20 and Rs 466.39 crore in 2020-21. For the year 2021-22, a total of Rs 104.23 crore has been approved for various state annual action plans.
As a result of the developmental efforts from the government agencies over the years, the oil palm area which was 8,585 ha in 1991-92, has increased to 3.70 lakh ha in 2020-21. Similarly, the production of FFBS from which oil palm is extracted, has increased from 0.21 lakh tonne (LT) to 16.89 LT in 2020-21. Crude Palm Oil (CPO) has increased from 0.01 LT to 2.72 LT during the same period.
With involvement of private players like Navabharat Limited (NBL), an edible oil processor based in Andhra Pradesh and the first private company to breed oil palm seeds, the scheme would be implemented on ‘mission mode’ through active involvement of all the stakeholders. With this, India will soon become Atmanirbhar in edible oil production, the way it has achieved in food production.