According to a latest press release from the Solvent Extractors' Association of India, Shri Ashok Sethia, President has stated that domestic policy priorities are needed to be identified to break stagnant oilseed production in the country. Mr Sethia has stated that trade estimate of kharif oilseed production is around 16.5 million tonnes where as the Government estimates it around 17.5 million tonnes.
The acreage in the rabi oilseed crop has increased to 83.75 lakh hecters from 76.97 lakh hectre last year. We can expect normal rabi oilseeds crop of about 10.0 million tonnes. The overall oilseed production would be around 26.0 to 27.0 million tonnes as such there is hardly growth in average production of last five years. Oilseed production is more or less stagnant leading to higher import of edible oil year on year basis and in the next oil year, the vegetable oil import may increase to over 6.5 million tonnes compared to 6.3 million tonnes in 2007-08.
India needs to decisively break the sluggishness in production growth. The policy priorities need to be redefined. Agriculture, Food security and Nutrition Security should be on the top of the Government's agenda. A country with a large population, a major chunk of which lives below or bordering on the poverty line, can ill-afford to compromise its food security. Under this changed scenario, India has to target self-reliance in food items at least to the extent of 80-85% particularly in edible oils where our self-sufficiency level has declined to a paltry 60% versus 97% in 1992-93. We shall head towards a crisis situation if we do not gear up now, and put in place policies and investments for increasing production of oilseeds to meet our growing requirement of edible oils.
The acreage in the rabi oilseed crop has increased to 83.75 lakh hecters from 76.97 lakh hectre last year. We can expect normal rabi oilseeds crop of about 10.0 million tonnes. The overall oilseed production would be around 26.0 to 27.0 million tonnes as such there is hardly growth in average production of last five years. Oilseed production is more or less stagnant leading to higher import of edible oil year on year basis and in the next oil year, the vegetable oil import may increase to over 6.5 million tonnes compared to 6.3 million tonnes in 2007-08.
India needs to decisively break the sluggishness in production growth. The policy priorities need to be redefined. Agriculture, Food security and Nutrition Security should be on the top of the Government's agenda. A country with a large population, a major chunk of which lives below or bordering on the poverty line, can ill-afford to compromise its food security. Under this changed scenario, India has to target self-reliance in food items at least to the extent of 80-85% particularly in edible oils where our self-sufficiency level has declined to a paltry 60% versus 97% in 1992-93. We shall head towards a crisis situation if we do not gear up now, and put in place policies and investments for increasing production of oilseeds to meet our growing requirement of edible oils.
No comments:
Post a Comment