The National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) is aimed at augmenting the availability of edible oil in the country, according to Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.

The Government is targeting to bring around 10 lakh hectares of area under the oil palm cultivation by 2025-26 with this mission.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Friday, Tomar said that the Government has launched the NMEO-OP with the aim to augment the availability of edible oil in the country by harnessing area expansion, and by increasing crude palm oil production. This will bring down India’s dependence on palm oil import.

Stating that around 3.70 lakh hectares of area are under oil palm cultivation in the country and around 287.88 lakh hectares under oilseeds, the Minister said Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research has assessed potential area at around 28 lakh hectares for oil palm cultivation in India.

He said the NMEO-OP has targeted to increase area of oil palm from 3.70 lakh hectares to 10 lakh hectares by 2025-26.

Of the existing 3.70 lakh hectares under oil palm cultivation, Andhra Pradesh covers the maximum area of 1.84 lakh hectares. Around 46,954 hectares of area is under oil palm cultivation in Karnataka, 32,982 hectares in Tamil Nadu, 23,130 hectares in Odisha, and 21,382 hectares in Telangana.

Oil palm is being cultivated on an area of around 39,259 hectares in the North-Eastern states of the country. Of these States, Mizoram covers a major portion of 26,680 hectares. Around 5,172 hectares of area is under oil palm cultivation in Nagaland, 4,246 hectares in Arunachal Pradesh, and 2,496 hectares in Assam. Around 530 hectares of area is under oil palm cultivation in Tripura, 136 hectares in Manipur.

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