The Government of India under the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) has launched a Mega Oil Plantation Drive from July 25 to August 5, 2023. To commemorate this initiative, a roundtable was organized in Guwahati, attended by Godrej Agrovet Ltd, the Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research, The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, and the Solidaridad Network. They discussed the importance of oil palm cultivation in the Northeast and its potential to uplift farmers.
Godrej Agrovet Ltd, a leading food and agri-business conglomerate, has been involved in an oil palm plantation in the region since 2006 and has signed MoUs with Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura State governments for the development and promotion of oil palm cultivation under the NMEO-OP scheme.
The initiative, launched in August 2021, aims to increase edible oil production from oil palm. NMEO-OP is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, and the cost of the scheme is shared between the Central and State Governments with costs shared 60:40 between the Central and State Governments for general states, 90:10 for NE states, and 100% for UTs and central agencies. Amidst everything the land ownership remains with the farmer, not any corporate. Balram Singh Yadav, Managing Director, Godrej Agrovet Ltd, said “The NMEO-OP is a step in the right direction for the country. We thank the government for putting this in place and also taking special care of the Northeast States.”
