{"id":106078,"date":"2023-06-29T14:01:21","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T14:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadialogue.net\/?p=106078"},"modified":"2023-07-13T13:21:48","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T13:21:48","slug":"indias-palm-oil-drive-faces-reality-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/food\/indias-palm-oil-drive-faces-reality-check\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s palm oil drive faces reality check"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Palm oil has become essential to India\u2019s food security in the past three decades, replacing other edible oils such as groundnut. About 90%<\/a> of the 8.5 million tonnes of palm oil consumed in India is used in food or as cooking oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, India is the world\u2019s second-largest consumer of palm oil after Indonesia, with one crucial difference: Indonesia produces most of the palm oil it consumes, while India produces nearly none. It spent US$8.72 billion<\/a> on palm oil imports in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same year, the Indian government set out to reverse this trend by encouraging farmers to grow oil palms, a potential win\u2013win for local agriculture and the economy. It announced<\/a> a nationwide campaign, the National Mission on Edible Oils \u2013 Oil Palm<\/a>, that promised subsidies for fertilisers and support for the sector at large, including setting up irrigation systems and processing mills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019\u201320, India produced 270,000 tonnes of palm oil from 350,000 hectares of plantations. The mission aims to increase this to 1.12 million tonnes across 1 million hectares by 2025\u201326, and to 2.8 million tonnes across 6.6 million hectares by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But progress has been slow. Government responses to right to information requests by China Dialogue revealed that 14 of the 22 states<\/a> slated for increased oil palm cultivation do not have mills to process fruits into palm oil, and that area-wise palm oil expansion targets<\/a> were not met in 2021\u201322 or 2022\u201323.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A reality check for \u2018aspirational targets\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Oil palm fruits are highly perishable. They need to be crushed within two days of harvesting and ideally within one. The fact that many states do not have mills at all is therefore cause for concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"oil<\/div>
Oil palm fruit left to rot on a plantation in Rukmo, Arunachal Pradesh. The lack of a local mill means oil palm harvests in this remote region may go to waste. (Image: Sumit Das \/ China Dialogue)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It also seems like little is being done to set up any additional mills. In its response to China Dialogue, the government stated that new mills are being established in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, while twelve states that do not yet have any of these facilities remain without prospective developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progress on area-wise expansion has also been unimpressive. In the first year, 72% of the 29,422-hectare expansion target was achieved, while just 36% of the 2022\u201323 target was met (excluding the last month of March).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts have also raised concerns over the climatic conditions of some of the target areas. For example, in the north-east the plan proposes to rely on rainfall<\/a> rather than irrigation. But annual rainfall in the region is lower than the 2,000\u20132,500 mm<\/a> the crop would ideally get, and is not distributed evenly throughout the year. Climate change adds to the uncertainty. Research shows that the total rainfall in the region has decreased<\/a> in the past 50 years, while the frequency of extreme rains has increased<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siraj Hussain, former national agriculture secretary, told China Dialogue that the inclusion of states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the expansion plans is \u201caspirational\u201d. In the short term, it is unlikely that production will take off here, he said, because climatic conditions like rainfall patterns and humidity are not conducive to cultivating oil palm. The relevant state governments are also not as enthusiastic about providing subsidies for inputs like fertilisers and support for irrigation facilities, he added. Currently, they do not produce any palm oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anupam Barik, a former commissioner with India\u2019s agriculture ministry, said various states including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, have not been enthusiastic about the crop\u2019s expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to these uncertainties, profits for farmers who choose to switch to oil palm may not be guaranteed. Hussain said that, with such risks in mind, \u201cthe experience of farmers in states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana [where oil palm cultivation has taken off] will be keenly watched,\u201d At around 300,000 tonnes of palm oil per year, the state of Andhra Pradesh is the country\u2019s largest palm oil producer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n