The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has emphasized the role of the North East Region in achieving ‘Atmanirbharta’ (self reliance) in edible oil through the National Mission for Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry highlighted that NMEO-OP is committed to escalating oil palm cultivation and elevating Crude Palm Oil production to 11.20 lakh tonnes by 2025-26 and has provisioned Rs 5,870 crore exclusively for the NER region out of the total national budget of INR 11,040 for the promotion of oil palm, where 90% contribution will be made by the Central government.

The Ministry said that the NER states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura, encompasses a vast potential area of 8.4 lakh hectares, which is 38% of the national potential. As of now, more than 30 nurseries have been established in the region with the capacity of 30 lakh planting material, it said.

Under the Oil Palm Mission, special assistance of Rs 1,00,000 per hectare is given to farmers for planting material, management, and to address the topographical challenges (land clearance, half-moon terrace construction, bio-fencing) faced by the NER farmers. The mission is also providing Rs 2,90,000 for the purchase of harvesting tools to farmers for palm oil cultivation, the Ministry added.

The Government of India will pay a differential of 2% on the CPO price to farmers considering the tough and difficult terrain of NER. Besides this, NMEO-OP is also promoting private players to invest in the NER for establishing post-harvest processing facilities in the region, where special assistance of Rs 5 crore is allocated for oil palm processing mills in the NER. The Ministry also informed that as of date, 10 new oil mills are proposed to be developed in the NER region.

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