Plans to cover area larger than Sikkim with palm oil plantations
19/10/2023 (Hindustan Times) - Special provisions are also being made to promote palm oil in northeast India keeping in mind the need for investment, the ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare said
The Union government plans to cover an area larger than the entire state of Sikkim with palm oil plantations in six northeastern states as part of a national mission that could mean devastating consequences for the biodiversity of the region.
Special provisions are also being made to promote palm oil in northeast India keeping in mind the need for investment, the ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare said in response to an RTI application from Hindustan Times.
“Government has launched a national mission on edible oils (palm oil) (NMEO-OP) in 2021-22 with an objective to enhance edible oil production through area expansion and crude palm oil (CPO) production of oil palm and to reduce import burden on edible oils,” the ministry said. In the northeastern states, three companies, Patanjali Foods Private Limited; Godrej Agrovet Ltd and 3F Oil Palm are involved in palm oil processing, plantation and procurement, the response to the RTI added.
NMEO-OP is being implemented in 15 states in the country including six northeastern states, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. HT reported on August 29 that Meghalaya plans to stay away from raising palm oil plantations in the state, citing their impact on biodiversity and opposition by farmers.
As per re-assessment of potential areas for oil palm cultivation in India by the Union government, a total area of 840,344 hectares or ha (8403.44 sqkm), larger than the total area of Sikkim, was found suitable and recommended for oil palm plantation in the northeastern states. The plantation area includes 133811 ha in Arunachal Pradesh i, 375428 ha in Assam, 66652 ha in Manipur, 51297 ha in Nagaland, 66792 ha in Mizoram, and 146364 ha in Tripura.
Palm oil plantations have had devastating consequences for the biodiversity in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Many vast monocrop oil palm plantations have displaced tropical forests across Asia, Latin America and West Africa. Around 90% of the world’s oil palm trees are grown on a few islands in Malaysia and Indonesia – islands with the most biodiverse tropical forests found on Earth. In these places, there is a direct relationship between the growth of oil palm estates and deforestation, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).