Will India’s palm oil production triple in 6 years?
India’s palm oil production is projected to triple within 6 years as the area under oil palm plantations expands and existing plantations mature for harvesting, according to a senior industry official. As the world’s largest edible oil importer, India relies heavily on imports from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Is there a potential area for oil palm cultivation in India?
A statement indicating total potential area for oil palm cultivation in India may be seen in Annexure-I. Oil palm has a long gestation period and restricts income flow to farmers for at least 4-5 years.
How to boost oil palm cultivation in India?
To boost oil palm cultivation, Government of India had implemented a Special Programme on Oil Palm Area Expansion (OPAE) under RKVY with an objective to bring 60,000 ha area under Oil Palm cultivation during the year 2011-12. It was continued till March, 2014.
How much palm oil does India produce?
In 2019–20, 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 2025–26, and to 2.8 million tonnes across 6.6 million hectares by 2030. But progress has been slow.
When was oil palm introduced to India?
9. Oil palm was introduced to India at National Royal Botanical Gardens, Kolkata during the year 1886. The Maharashtra Association for Cultivation of Sciences (MACS), Pune later introduced African dura palms along canal bunds, home gardens and, to some extent, in forest lands near Pune during 1947 to 1959.
How can we promote sustainable palm oil production in India?
WWF-India is exploring government-led mechanisms, which aim to incentivise the production and import of sustainable palm oil, in line with the SDGs, for establishing a level playing field for increasing the uptake of responsibly sourced edible oil in India.