The Ministry of Agriculture has urged the State Governments to prioritise the oil palm plantation targets under the National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) scheme.
Key facts about NMEO-OP scheme
NMEO-OP is a centrally sponsored scheme to promote domestic production of crude palm oil (CPO) thereby reducing the country’s dependence on imports.
Objectives
- Area expansion: To cover additional 6.5 lakh hectares of oil palm area by 2025-26, taking the total area covered under it to 10 lakh hectares.
- Production target: To increase CPO production from 0.27 lakh tonnes (2019-20) to 11.20 lakh tonnes (2025-26) and to 28 lakh tonnes by 2029-30.
- Per capita consumption: To maintain a consumption level of 19 kg/person/year by 2025-26.
- Focus area: Special focus on North Eastern region and Andaman & Nicobar Islands to promote oil palm cultivation and CPO production.
Key features
- Price assurance: It focuses on Viability Price (VP) mechanism to protect farmers from international price fluctuations. Viability fund will be paid directly into farmers’ accounts as DBT.
- Increase in assistance: Assistance amount for planting material increased from Rs. 12,000 per hectare to Rs. 29,000 per hectare. Special assistance of Rs. 250 per plant provided for revival of old orchards.
- Special provisions for North East and Andaman: To ensure equity in payments to farmers across regions, an additional 2% of the CPO price will be borne by the Government. Special provisions have been made for integrated farming as well as crescent terrace farming and bio-fencing.
| Semi-circular terracing is a soil restoration technique in which semi-circular embankments are constructed to collect and concentrate runoff water for plant growth. Bio-fencing means planting rows of trees along the boundaries of fields and fields to provide protection from livestock and wildlife. It focuses on controlling dust along with acting as a windbreak. |
Oil Palm
- Origin and Yield: It originated in the tropical rain forest region of West Africa. It is a comparatively new crop in India but has the highest vegetable oil yield potential per hectare. The productivity of oil palm is five times higher than that of traditional oilseeds.
- Types: It yields two types of oils.
- Palm oil: Obtained from the mesocarp of the fruit (45-55% oil content).
- Palm Kernel Oil: It is obtained from the kernel, which is a source of lauric oils.
Cultivation of Oil Palm
- Major States: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala (98% of total production).
- Other Major States: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.
- Extent: Its total potential area in India is about 28 lakh hectares but only 3.70 lakh hectares of area is under oil palm cultivation.
- Import: India is the largest importer of palm oil in the world with 9.2 million tonnes of palm oil imports in 2023-24. Palm oil accounts for 60% of total edible oil imports. India mainly buys oil from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.