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Recently, Prime Minister has announced National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) to ensure self-sufficiency in edible oil production at a time when India’s dependence on expensive imports has driven retail oil prices to new highs.
About National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP)
- India has become self sufficient or Aatamnirbhar in production of rice, wheat and sugar, but it was not enough as the country is dependent on huge imports of edible oils.
- The government will ensure that farmers get all facilities, from quality seeds to technology to promote farming to produce palm oil and other oil seeds.
- India produces less than half of the roughly 2.4 crore tonnes of edible oil that it consumes annually.
- It imports the rest, buying palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, soyoil from Brazil and Argentina, and sunflower oil, mainly from Russia and Ukraine.
Source: Businessline - The country does export agricultural commodities such as sugar and rice on the world market, but domestic oilseed production is nearly six times lower than rice and wheat on average.
- India’s vegetable oil imports have surged to 1.5 crore tonnes from 40 lakh only two decades ago.
- It s expected to incentivize production of palm oil to reduce dependence on imports and help farmers cash in on the huge market.
- The special emphasis of the scheme will be in India’s north-eastern states and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands due to the conducive weather conditions in the regions.
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