National Oil Seed Mission: Despite being an agricultural country, India imports edible oil worth about 65,000-70,000 crores annually. The Prime Minister said that this money spent on imports can go into the account of the farmers of the country.
Modi government is now going to work in mission mode to reduce the dependence of the country on edible oil import. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also mentioned in the meeting of the Sixth Governing Council of NITI Aayog (NITI Aayog) that despite being an agricultural country, India imports edible oil worth about 65,000-70,000 crore rupees annually. The Prime Minister said that this money spent on imports can go into the account of the farmers of the country.
Under this, along with increasing production of edible oil from various sources, public awareness will also be spread for economical consumption of oil. According to experts, the objective of this new mission of the Modi government is not only to bring self-sufficiency in the case of edible oil but also to put the money of farmers on the import of its imports.
19 thousand crores will be spent on National Oil Seed Mission in 5 years
There is a plan to spend about Rs 19,000 crore in the next five years on the National Oil Seed Mission. A senior official of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said that the preparations for the mission are free and will be implemented from April 1 in the next financial year.
India imports 150 million tonnes of edible oil
India imports about 150 lakh tonnes of edible oil every year, while domestic production is around 70-80 lakh tonnes. With the growing population of the country, consumption of edible oil will also increase further. In such a situation, achieving such self-sufficiency in edible oil is a big goal. But Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), says that when a work is done in mission mode, then there is a high chance of success in it.
Farmers should be encouraged to cultivate pulses and oilseeds
He said that to increase the production of oilseeds in the country, more emphasis will be laid on increasing productivity along with acreage. Dr. Mahapatra told that in the eastern region of the country, there is about 110 lakh hectares of land, which remains empty after taking paddy crop, it can increase its area by growing mustard. Apart from this, in northern India including Punjab and Haryana, where there is a shortage of water, farmers can be encouraged to cultivate pulses and oilseeds instead of crops like paddy, wheat and sugarcane.
Dr. Mahapatra said that like paddy and wheat, if farmers get the minimum support price (MSP) of oilseeds and high yielding seeds are available, then their interest in cultivating these crops will increase.
Now emphasis is being given on increasing palm farming
He informed that according to the study of ICAR, there are 20 agro ecological regions in the country which are divided into 60 agro-ecological zones. Dr. Mahapatra said that varieties of seeds are prepared for the cultivation of suitable crops in the particular climate of the region, which increases the yield. He said that India imports the most palm oil, but the emphasis is now on increasing palm cultivation in the country, which will help in bringing self-sufficiency.
Nine oilseed crops are cultivated every year
A total of nine oilseed crops are cultivated in India every year. Their annual production has been exceeding 300 lakh tonnes for the last four years and is increasing year by year. These include oilseeds and oils also, which are used only in industry, but mostly are used as edible oil.
Mustard production can be between 110 to 120 lakh tons
Director of Mustard Research Directorate in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, under the ICAR, Dr. P.K. Rai said that there is great potential to increase the production of oilseeds in the country and mustard can be seen as an example. He said that the emphasis on mustard cultivation in mission mode has increased the area this year and due to good crop production can be between 110 to 120 lakh tonnes.
You can get oil from the seeds of perennial trees
The Agriculture Ministry official said that in the next five years, the production of oilseeds in the country can double. Apart from seasonal crops, oil is obtained from the seeds of some perennial trees in the country. Then, there are also secondary sources of oil. A senior official of the Ministry of Agriculture said that the goal of progress has been set at every level. Four sub-missions have been created under the National Oilseeds Mission, which are as follows:
To increase the production of oil from primary sources – Under this, there is a plan to increase production of soyabean, mustard-rapeseed, groundnut, sunflower, sesame, safflower and ramtil.
Increasing the production of oil from secondary source – This includes crops, which are not produced mainly for oil, but as a by-product of oil. For example, cotton oil, linseed oil, Brian Rice oil etc.
Government to amend Essential Commodities Act to deregulate cereals, edible oil, pulses
Setting up of processing units in oilseed production area – In the areas where oilseeds are produced, provision has been made to set up processing units, so that farmers can get the price of their crops.
Consumer awareness- Awareness campaign to make people aware of the benefits of economical consumption of oil.
The annual consumption of oil per capita in the country is 19.3 kg
Experts say that with the growing population of the country, oil consumption is constantly increasing, but a research by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) advises a person to eat 30 grams of oil daily. Following this, the per capita oil consumption per year will be around 11 kg. Whereas according to the 2017 report, the annual per capita oil consumption in the country is 19.3 kg.
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