JOIN USCabinet approves Rs 11,040 crore National Mission on edible oils-oil palm
With the offer of a fixed price and a massive increase in monetary assistance, the government on Wednesday unveiled a new initiative to step up cultivation of oil palm across the country in its bid to cut import dependence for supply of edible oil.
Under the Rs 11,040 crore National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm, approved by the Union Cabinet, the government also enhanced the financial assistance for setting up seed gardens to ensure availability of planting material for oil palms.
Currently, India has only 3.70 lakh hectares of land under oil palm cultivation, and with the new mission, the government plans to increase it to 10 lakh hectares.
The NMEO-OP will focus on increasing oil palm acreage in north eastern states and Andaman & Nicobar islands – regions that have a favourable climate for cultivation of the plants.
“Oil palm produces 10 to 46 times more oil per hectare compared to other oilseeds,” Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters.
He said oil palm can yield four tonnes of oil per hectare and an increase in its production can go a long way in reducing dependence on imports to meet the edible oil demand in the country.
India imports nearly 60 per cent of its total edible oil demand and crude palm oil forms a large part of the total imports.
A key hurdle in oil palm cultivation is the long wait – five years or more – for the trees to mature and start producing fresh fruit bunches.
Tomar said the government has decided to give assured prices to oil palm growers – similar to the minimum support price – with a promise to farmers to make up for the losses if the market price fall below the assured price.
The Cabinet also approved a substantial increase in assistance for planting material from Rs 12,000 per hectare to Rs 29,000 per hectare. A special assistance at the rate of Rs 250 per plant is also being given for rejuvenation of old gardens through re-planting.