No FDI takers for oil palm industry
A recently released report has indicated that
the government’s decision to allow 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in oil
palm plantations in November last year has failed to draw even a single investor.
What else needs to be
done to attract investors?
·
Oil
palm should be declared as a plantation crop. There should be relaxation of
land ceiling norms. This paves the way for large scale plantation of oil palm.
The current policies of the Centre do not allow companies to either acquire or
lease land beyond a specific acreage as defined by land ceiling norms. Thus,
there is no scope for the corporate sector for large scale plantation of oil
palm.
·
Oil
palm developers say that the potential of this crop could be realised
effectively if there is a separate oil palm development board, a separate
import policy for palm oil and a separate budget for oil palm industry
development.
What has the
government done to encourage oil palm industry?
v
Oil
palm is comparatively a new crop in India and is stated to be the highest
vegetable oil yielding crop. In order to encourage its cultivation in the
country as a part of its effort to reduce imports and ensure edible oil
security, the government came out with a National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil
Palm (NMOOP).
About NMOOP:
ü
NMOOP
envisages bringing an additional 1.25 lakh hectares under oil palm cultivation
through area expansion approach in the States including utilisation of
wastelands.
Ø
The
States currently engaged in oil palm cultivation are Andhra Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha,
Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland,
Sikkim, Tripura and West Bengal.
India’s edible oil imports
are rising steeply. In the past 13 years, import of crude and refined oil was
reported to have quadrupled and the import bill in this regard is expected to
touch $ 15 billion in 2016-17.
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