Source: Kurukshetra Magazine
India is one of the major oilseeds grower and importer of edible oils. India’s vegetable oil economy is the world’s fourth-largest after USA, China & Brazil. But a substantial portion of our requirement of edible oil is met through import of palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia hence government of India implemented the National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP) during the 12th Five Year Plan, to expand the oil palm areas and increase the production of edible oils
Key features of the Mission
Mini Missions and their targets
The NMOOP was launched under Mini Missions (MM) I, II & III to achieve the following specific targets;
- Under the MM–I, the mission aims to increase the production of oilseeds to 35.51 million tonnes from the current average production of 28.93 million tonnes of oilseeds.
- Under the MM–II, the mission’s target is to broaden the area for oil palm cultivation and boost the production of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) from 4927 kg/ha to 15,000 kg/ha.
- MM–III envisages to strengthen the seed collection of Tree Borne Oilseeds (TBOs) such as olive, sal, mahua, kokum, wild apricot, Tung, etc., from 9 lakh tonnes to 14 lakh tonnes and provide best planting materials for the expanded areas.
Purpose of the Mini Missions
Mini Mission–I (Oil Seeds)
- The mission citing the importance of oil palm was launched in 12 potential states in India with the listed purpose,
- To bring 75,000 hectares area under palm cultivation and increase the production of edible oils
- To promote oil palms in all Northern-Eastern states
- To address the demand for new oil palm plantations both from native and imported sources
- To render assistance to farmers by providing planting materials, maintenance cost for palms, irrigation & bore well, and harvesting tools.
- To buy Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) from farmers through processing industries
- To provide profitable rates for FFBs when international Crude Palm Oil (CPO) price drops
- To support farmers through Market Intervention Scheme (MIS)
Mini Mission-II (Oil Palm)
- To increase the Seed Replacement Ratio (SSR) with a focus on the Varietal Replacement.
- To raise the area of irrigation of the Oilseeds from 26% to 36%.
- To encourage the inter-cropping of oilseeds with cereals/pulses and sugarcane.
- To increase the availability of quality and efficient planting materials of Oil Palm and Tree Borne Oilseeds (TBOs).
Mini Mission-III (Tree Borne Oilseeds (TBOs)).
NMOOP implements the Mini Mission–III either through the Departments of Agriculture of the State Governments or the Department of Horticulture and it focuses on,
- Expanding the plantation area.
- Providing proper maintenance of the seedings.
- Encouraging the intercropping during the gestation periods.
- Providing technical support and training with the assistance of Government institutions.
Implementation
- National and State level committees are established to oversee the activities of the mission.
- National Level Committee comprises of,
- An Executive Committee (EC) to guide and monitor the overall progress of the mission. It is headed by the Union Minister of Agriculture and consulted by the heads of several DACs.
- A Standing Committee (SC) to oversee the activities and approve the Annual Action Plan (AAP) of the States.
- A Mission Monitoring Committee (MMC) to review the physical and financial progress of the three Mini Missions.
- State Level Committee is formed by the State Government to decide the priorities, examine the AAPs and evaluate the progress of each Mini Missions implemented in the States. It is chaired by the Chairman of Agriculture Production Commissioner/Principal Secretary/Secretary (Agriculture) of the State.
