Cabinet rationalises agri schemes into 2; okays Rs 10K cr Oilseeds Mission

The Central share in the Rs 101,321 crore allocation is Rs 69,088.98 crore, and the state share is Rs 32,232.63 crore

In a big move, the Union cabinet on Thursday rationalised 18 centrally sponsored schemes of the agriculture ministry with a total allocation of Rs 101,321 crore into two, while launching a national mission on oilseeds with an outlay of Rs 10,103 crore.

The two mother schemes - Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY), and Krishonnati Yojana (KY) - formed after the convergence will give more funding flexibility to the states to reallocate funds from one component to another based on their own needs and avoid duplication.

The Central share in the Rs 101,321 crore allocation is  Rs 69,088.98 crore while the state share is Rs 32,232.63 crore.

 

The Oilseeds Mission that will be implemented over seven years from 2024-25 to 2030-31 aims to push India’s primary oilseed production from 39 million tonnes (2022-23) to 69.7 million tonnes by 2030-31, improve per hectare yields from 1,353 kgs to 2,112 kgs and domestic edible oils production from 12.7 million tonnes to 20.2 million tonnes by 2030-31.

An additional four million hectares of land is targeted to be brought under oilseeds through the mission by targeting rice and potato fallow lands, promoting intercropping, and crop diversification.

Currently, oilseeds are grown in around 29 million hectares of land annually.

The oilseeds mission, together with the Mission on Oil Palm, also aims to lower India’s dependency on imported edible oil from the existing around 57 per cent to just around 28 per cent in the next seven years.

The oilseeds mission will primarily focus on enhancing the production of key crops such as mustard, groundnut, soybean, sunflower, and sesame, besides increasing collection and extraction from secondary sources like cottonseed, rice bran, and tree-borne oils.

According to the Cabinet decision, the mission aims to achieve these targets through a combination of strategies that include promoting the adoption of high-yielding oil-content seed varieties, extending cultivation into rice fallow areas, and promoting intercropping.

It will also nurture the ongoing development of high-quality seeds by using cutting-edge global technologies such as genome editing.

The mission will soon launch a portal called the ‘Seed Authentication, Traceability and Holistic Inventory (SATHI)’ to enable states to establish advance tie-ups with seed-producing agencies, including private seed companies for a steady supply of high-yielding oilseeds seeds.

Sixty-five new seed hubs and 50 seed storage units will be set up in the public sector as part of the mission.

India first started importing edible oils in a big way in the 1990s. Since then, according to trade sources, in the last 20 years (1990-91 to 2020-21), imports have risen by over 160 per cent in volume terms while in value terms it has risen from Rs 7,000 crore to almost Rs 117,000 cores in 2020-21.

In 2022-23 (November to October), India imported its highest-ever volume of edible oils at almost 16.46 million tonnes, valued at almost Rs 140,000 crore.

In the 2023-24 Oil Year that will end this month, trade sources expect vegetable oil imports to be around 16-16.5 million tonnes, which is the same as the last marketing season.

National Mission on Edible Oils — Oilseeds Objectives by 2030-31

A)  Raise oilseed acreage from 29 million hectares to 33 million hectares

B)   Raise oilseeds yield from 1353 kgs per hectare to 2112 kgs per hectare

C)   Increase oilseeds production from 39 million tonnes to 69 million tonnes

D)  Increase domestic edible oils production from 12.7 million tonnes to 20.2 million tonnes

E)   Lower import dependency from 57 per cent to 28 per cent (with palm oil mission)