Oil palm mission meets 42% of 650,000 hectare target; no higher aid planned
India brought 273,302 hectares under oil palm cultivation through NMEO-OP by 2025-26, achieving only 42% of the 650,000-hectare target. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh led expansion, while 640,264 hectares is currently under cultivation against 2.17 million hectares of identified potential.
The Centre brought 273,000 hectares under oil palm cultivation through the National Mission on Edible Oils–Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) between 2021-22 and 2025-26, against a target of 650,000 hectares, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare said in a Lok Sabha reply on Tuesday.
The area brought under the mission stood at 273,302 hectares, or about 42 per cent of the target. The shortfall was 376,698 hectares.
273,000 hectares brought under mission
NMEO-OP was launched in 2021-22 with a target of bringing 650,000 hectares under oil palm cultivation by 2025-26. The mission is being implemented in 15 states.
Telangana recorded the highest area brought under the mission at 98,112 hectares, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 97,871 hectares. Arunachal Pradesh added 20,967 hectares, while Assam recorded 14,032 hectares.
In other states, the area brought under the mission stood at 9,977 hectares in Odisha, 8,459 hectares in Nagaland, 7,045 hectares in Karnataka, 4,242 hectares in Chhattisgarh, 3,617 hectares in Mizoram, 1,579 hectares in Tamil Nadu, 542 hectares in Gujarat, 434 hectares in Kerala, 238 hectares in Manipur and 50 hectares in Goa.
Tripura brought 6,137 hectares under the mission. The state began implementing NMEO-OP in 2023-24.
Only 29% of potential area under oil palm
The government, in its reply, said it identified 2.17 million hectares as potential area for oil palm cultivation across the 15 implementing states. Of this, 640,264 hectares is currently under oil palm cultivation, which is about 29 per cent of the identified potential.
Andhra Pradesh has the largest area currently under oil palm cultivation at 282,511 hectares, followed by Telangana at 119,494 hectares and Karnataka at 53,999 hectares.
Odisha has 33,107 hectares under oil palm cultivation against a potential area of 34,291 hectares. Tamil Nadu has 34,561 hectares under cultivation against a potential area of 95,719 hectares.
Arunachal Pradesh has 25,213 hectares under oil palm against a potential area of 133,811 hectares, while Assam has 16,528 hectares against a potential area of 375,428 hectares.
No increase in financial assistance
The government was asked whether it proposed to enhance financial assistance under the Area Expansion Programme of NMEO-OP.
The Centre’s response was: “No.”
The government said the National Mission on Edible Oils comprises NMEO-OP and the National Mission on Edible Oils–Oilseeds (NMEO-OS). The two missions aim to increase domestic edible oil production and reduce import dependence.
NMEO-OS was launched in 2024-25 to increase the production and productivity of major oilseed crops and promote interventions across oilseed value chains.
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Source : Business Standard
