Sowing of oilseeds gets a summer boost
By Sandip Das
To boost oilseeds output, ten states, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam and Bihar have taken up sowing of summer-grown crops – groundnut, sunflower and sesame — for the first time this season. The move is under the national mission on edible oils.
Oilseeds have traditionally been grown during kharif and rabi seasons. Over 1.11 lakh hectare have been covered under summer oilseeds season (February-June) this year.
Officials said that summer-sown oilseeds are expected to boost overall output, leading to enhanced area and availability of edible oil. “States have come up with proposals for setting up clusters for boosting oilseed output and setting up processing units in collaboration with private entities and farmers’ collective,” an official said.
Aiming a reduction of import dependence on edible oil from the current level of 57% to 28% by 2032, the Rs 10,103 crore national edible oil mission aims at enhancing the production of key primary oilseed crops such as rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soybean, sunflower, and sesame. The mission launched last year also aims to increase collection and extraction efficiency from secondary sources like cottonseed, rice bran, and tree borne oils.
Under the mission, the government has started to provide incentives for the promotion of the processing of secondary oils, under the national mission launched last year. Currently financial incentives are being provided to farmer producers organisations (FPOs), cooperatives, and industry players to establish or upgrade post-harvest units through cluster development.
Officials said in recent years, the import of cooking oils has grown at a faster pace because of rising consumption and domestic production unable to meet the demand. According to an official note, 57% of the edible oil requirement is met through imports because of inadequate domestic production.
Edible oil imports in the oil year 2023-24 (Nov-Oct) stood at Rs 1.31 lakh crore, marginally lower than in the previous year. The country imports palm oil, soybean and sunflower in large quantities.
The government has set a target to raise edible oil production by 64% to 20.18 million tonnes (MT) per annum by 2032 from 12.3 MT at present.
According to an official note, 57% of the edible oil requirement is met through imports because of inadequate domestic production .
The oilseeds output is expected to increase from the current level of 39.2 MT to 69.7 MT by 2032 while the area under oilseeds is expected to rise to 33 million hectares (Mha) from 29 Mha. “Around 27% of the increase in edible oil production would come from area expansion, while a major chunk of the increase in production would be from new varietal development,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the government has identified 1.12 mha of rice fallow where the land remains unused after harvesting for the production of oilseeds in Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) would ensure that oilseed farmers receive minimum support price (MSP) through price support scheme and price deficiency payment scheme, according to officials.
Officials said 20% import duty on edible oils has been imposed to protect domestic producers from cheap imports and encourage local cultivation.
This article has been republished from The Financial Express.