In News:

Cabinet Approves National Mission on Edible Oils – Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds) (2024-25 to 2030-31).

Objective:

• Achieve self-reliance in edible oil production in seven years.

Financial Outlay:

• ?10,103 crore for the mission period.

Key Goals:

• Increase primary oilseed production from 39 million tonnes (2022-23) to 69.7 million tonnes by 2030-31.
• Boost domestic edible oil production to 25.45 million tonnes, meeting 72% of projected requirements.

Focus Areas:

• Enhance production of key oilseed crops: Rapeseed-Mustard, Groundnut, Soybean, Sunflower, Sesamum.
• Improve extraction efficiency from secondary sources (e.g., Cottonseed, Rice Bran).

Strategies:

• Promote high-yielding, high oil content seed varieties.
• Extend cultivation to rice fallow areas and encourage intercropping.
• Use advanced technologies like genome editing for seed development.

SATHI Portal:

• Launch of an online 5-year rolling seed plan for timely seed availability.
• Coordination with cooperatives, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and seed corporations.

Infrastructure Development:

• Establish 65 new seed hubs and 50 seed storage units.
• Develop over 600 Value Chain Clusters across 347 districts, covering over 1 million hectares annually.

Support for Farmers:

• Access to high-quality seeds, training on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), and pest management advisory.

Environmental Benefits:

• Promote low water usage, improve soil health, and utilize crop fallow areas.

Background Context:

• India relies on imports for 57% of its edible oil demand.
• Previous initiatives include the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) and significant increases in Minimum Support Price (MSP) for oilseeds.
• Imposition of 20% import duty on edible oils to protect local producers.

The NMEO-Oilseeds mission aims to enhance domestic oilseed production, reduce import dependency, and improve farmers' incomes while contributing to environmental sustainability.