Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi underlined India's self-reliance in edible oil production during his visit to Arunachal Pradesh. The Prime Minister mentioned Mission Palm Oil, a special campaign run by the Central Government keeping in mind the North-East region. He inaugurated the first oil mill under this mission. The Prime Minister said, “Mission Palm Oil will make India self-reliant in the edible oil sector and increase the income of farmers.” He expressed gratitude to the farmers for cultivating palm.
Earlier, the Government of India had launched the National Edible Oil Mission – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) in August, 2021. This mission is committed to increase palm cultivation and increase the production of crude palm oil to 11.20 lakh tonnes by the year 2025-26. Under NMEO-OP, a provision of Rs 5,870 crore has been made for the promotion of palm oil out of the total national budget of Rs 11,040 crore, especially for the North-Eastern region. The central government will contribute 90 percent in this.
The Oil Palm Mission has been strategically designed to promote palm cultivation in new geographical areas and provide comprehensive support to farmers. This assistance includes assistance in planting material, assured buy-back commitments from private companies and protecting farmers from global price volatility by offering viability gap pricing to hedge against risks.
The role of North-Eastern Region (NER) in achieving self-sufficiency in edible oil is important as palm oil is produced in six NER states – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. These states have a huge potential area of 8.4 lakh hectares for palm oil production, which is 38 percent of the national potential. So far, more than 30 nurseries with a capacity of more than 30 lakh planting material have been established in the area.
Under NMEO-OP, special subsidy of Rs 1,00,000 per hectare will be provided to farmers for providing planting material, management and resolution of land related challenges (land clearance, half-moon terrace construction, bio-fencing) faced by NER farmers. Assistance is given. Apart from this, the mission is also providing Rs 2,90,000 to the farmers for the purchase of harvesting equipment used in palm cultivation.
Government of India will pay 2% difference on CPO price to the farmers considering the difficult and inaccessible terrain of NER. At the same time, in order to provide level playing field and motivate the processors, this 2 per cent difference on the CPO price in other areas will have to be paid by the processors. The government is encouraging industries by paying it in terms of NER.
Apart from this, the Mission is also promoting private companies to invest in NER for setting up post-harvest processing centers in the North Eastern region, where a special assistance of Rs 5 crore has been allocated for oil palm processing mills in the region. Has been done. Presently there is a proposal to construct 10 new oil mills under NER sector.
This visionary initiative reflects the government's commitment to boosting economic growth, empowering farmers and creating a sustainable and self-sustaining ecosystem for edible oil production in India. NMEO-OP is a testament to India's dedication to achieving self-reliance in the vital sector of edible oils.
