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Source: PIB
What is the News?
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to launch a new Mission on Oil palm, to be known as the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).
About National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP):
- NMEO-OP is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme that aims to boost domestic production of Palm Oil and reduce its dependence on imports.
- The mission has a special focus on the North-eastern region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Target: The mission hopes to increase the area under oil palm by an additional 6.5 lakh hectares by 2025-26. It also has a target to increase the production of crude palm oil to 11.2 lakh tonnes by 2025-26 and up to 28 lakh tonnes by 2029-30.
Major Focus Areas of the scheme:
Price Assurance:
- The oil palm farmers will produce Fresh Fruit Bunches(FFBs) from which Palm oil is extracted by the industry.
- Presently, the prices of these FFBs are linked to the international Crude Palm Oil(CPO) prices fluctuations.
- So if the market is volatile, then the Centre will pay the difference in price to the farmers through direct benefit transfer
- This price assurance will be given in the form of viability gap funding, and the industry will be mandated to pay 14.3% of crude palm oil prices.
- Moreover, in a bid to encourage oil palm cultivation in northeastern India and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Centre will bear an additional cost of 2% of the crude palm oil prices in these States.
- Hence, this will protect the farmers from the fluctuations of the international CPO prices and protect them from volatility.
The assistance of Inputs/Interventions: The scheme has been made a substantial increase in the assistance of inputs/interventions:
- A substantial increase has been made for planting material for oil palm and this has increased from Rs 12,000 per ha to Rs.29000 per ha.
- Further, a substantial increase has been made for maintenance and intercropping interventions.
- Moreover, assistance will be provided to seed gardens to address the issue of shortage of planting material in the country.
