Assam sets target to bring 3.75 hectares of land under oil palm plantation

Guwahati (Assam) [India], August 9 : In an attempt to make Assam self-reliant in the production of edible oils, the state government has set a target to bring 3.75 lakh hectares of land under oil palm plantations.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma led the state in joining the movement in producing edible palm oil when he along with Yoga Guru Ramdev planted saplings of oil palm at  Saikhowaghat in Tinsukia Tuesday.
“It may be noted that with this plantation, a target has been set to bring 3.75 lakh hectares under the cultivation of oil palm,” a press release from Chief Minister’s Office said.
Speaking on the occasion, CM Sarma said that the main objective of this movement is to revolutionise agro-economy through oil palm plantations. He said that as a part of a series of steps to promote an oil palm plantation, Patanjali Food Limited (PFL), a food-based company has set a target of 60,300 hectares of plantation by 2026.
He said that since farmers are keen to adopt oil palm as a new crop to supplement and boost their income, the government is taking steps to promote the cultivation of oil palm trees.
He also said that Patanjali will develop palm oil plantations in seven districts -- Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Golaghat, Jorhat, Nagaon, Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro), and Goalpara. It is planning to set up 16 nurseries by the coming year to facilitate quality seeding supply to farmers. Besides, it will set up 12 refineries in seven districts this year and another four by next year. Moreover, it will set up an oil palm processing factory at Dhing and Nagaon, the CMO release added.
Meanwhile, the state governments along with oil palm processing companies have initiated a mega plantation drive to further increase the area under oil palm cultivation in the country. The mega plantation drive commenced on July 25 and will continue till August 12, 2023.
With an aim to increase the oil palm production area to 10 lakh hectares, and boost the crude palm oil production to 11.20 lakh tonnes by 2025-26, the central government launched National Mission for Edible Oils- Oil Palm in August 2021.
The oil palm growing states, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Karnataka, Goa, Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh are participating in this plantation initiative.
India is the world's second-largest consumer and number one vegetable oil importer, and it meets about 60 per cent of its needs through imports.
A large part of it is palm oil and its derivatives, which are imported from Indonesia and Malaysia. India majorly consumes mustard, palm, soybean, and sunflower-derived edible oils.