The report titled "Pathways and Strategies for Accelerating Growth in Edible Oils Towards the Goal of Atmanirbharta" was released by NITI Aayog during August 2024.
The report comprehensively explores the current state of the country’s edible oil sector and its future potential. It presents a detailed roadmap to address existing challenges, focusing on bridging the demand-supply gap and developing new approaches to attain self-sufficiency. Under a Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario, the national supply of edible oil is projected to increase to 16 MT by 2030 and 26.7 MT by 2047.
The report highlights that over the past decades, per capita consumption of edible oil in the country has seen a dramatic rise, reaching 19.7 kg/year. This surge in demand has significantly outpaced domestic production, leading to a heavy reliance on imports to meet both domestic and industrial needs. In 2022-23, India imported 16.5 million tonnes (MT) of edible oils, with domestic production fulfilling only 40-45% of the country’s requirements. This situation presents a substantial challenge to the country’s goal of achieving self-sufficiency in edible oils.
The report considers three distinct approaches for demand forecasting to gain a multifaceted understanding of future edible oil needs:
To achieve self-sufficiency in this sector, the report suggests several strategic interventions to bridge the existing gap and ensure long-term sustainability. The proposed strategy is structured across three key pillars:
Further, the ‘state-wise quadrant approach’ outlined in the report offers a valuable tool for achieving “Atmanirbharta” in edible oils. The report identifies state clusters using four quadrants [i.e., (i) High Area-High Yield (HA-HY), (iii.) High Area-Low Yield (HA-LY), (iii) Low Area-High Yield (LAHY), and (iv) Low Area-Low Yield (LA-LY)] for the edible oil crops cultivated across the country.
State clusters with high cultivation area and yield (HA-HY) may focus on improving efficiency and adopting best practices from leading global producers. Conversely, states with high area but low yield (HA-LY) require interventions aimed at vertical expansion (i.e., enhancing yield). In low-area, high-yield states (LA-HY), the focus might shift towards horizontal expansion, expanding cultivation while maintaining efficiency. Finally, areas with low area and low yield (LA-LY) need to focus on both horizontal and vertical expansion. By strategically targeting these clusters and implementing tailored interventions, the country can maximize its production potential and effectively address the near-term challenges posed by potential consumption increases.
The strategic interventions recommended in this report, offer a vibrant path towards reducing import dependence. The report notes that by implementing the strategic interventions, the country has the potential to significantly increase the domestic edible oil production by 43.5 MT. This substantial increase has the potential to not only bridge the import gap but also position the country on a trajectory toward self-sufficiency in edible oils.
The report says:
In addition to that, the report highlights that optimizing seed utilization and processing capabilities is critical to strengthening the foundation for edible oil self-sufficiency indicating that high-quality seeds alone can contribute significantly (15-20%) to increased production, potentially reaching even higher levels (45%) when combined with efficient management of other agricultural inputs. However, the current Seed Replacement Ratio (SRR) falls short of the target of 80-85%, ranging from 25% in groundnut to 62% in rapeseed mustard, hindering overall yield improvement. The report also suggested that modernizing existing mills and strategically investing in processing infrastructure will improve efficiency and minimize waste since the country’s vegetable oil sector is characterized by many small-scale, low-technology plants with substantial excess capacity, utilizing only 30% of its edible oil refining capacity.
Since achieving self-sufficiency in edible oil is a critical national priority, to navigate this path successfully the recommendations and the way forward of this report laid down based on the valuable insights gained from a primary field survey encompassing 1,261 farmers across seven major oilseed-growing states (Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka). The report concludes with several recommendations to achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils, including focusing on area retention of oilseeds, seed traceability and quality assurance, adoption of improved and advanced production technologies, value addition through processing and refining, effective marketing and robust market linkages, encouraging public-private partnerships, developing a dynamic trade policy for balanced growth, broadening the scope of the National Mission on Edible Oils, enhancing public awareness on recommended dietary guidelines, incentivizing and encouraging domestic oilseed consumption in the food industry. The report further highlights that addressing disparities in oilseed yields requires a data-driven approach and robust systems to bridge regional gaps and investment in research and development is crucial for transforming the edible oil sector to ensure “Atmanirbharta” in the edible oil sector with national food security and economic stability.
NITI Aayog's Pathways and Strategies for Accelerating Growth in Edible Oils Towards Atmanirbharta
Last Modified : 8/29/2024
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