'Union govt to take up attaining self sufficiency in edible

India is importing Rs 70,000 crore worth edible oil every year and the Union government has decided to take up attaining self-sufficiency in edible oils by 2022 in a mission mode, Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said here today.

"...We are importing Rs 70,000 crore worth of edible oil every year. As our government took up the challenge, and in mission mode in the field of pulses, we have attained almost self-sufficiency level in that. Now we have decided to take this sector in a mission mode to attain self-sufficiency by 2022," he told reporters here.

Though the country is now a mega producer of foodgrains, horticulture products and several others, it needs to catch up in the edible oil sector, Shekhawat said.

"In the edible oil sector, that is the only sector where we are still lagging behind," he said.

"Earlier, we used to import pulses.But now we have almost attained self-sufficiency levels in that also," he said.

He was speaking after inaugurating a National Seminar on 'Roadmap for vegetable oil production by 2022', hosted by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research (IIOR) here.

The event was organised by the Oilseeds Division of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers' Welfare of the Centre.

Observing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken an initiative to double farmers' income by 2022, Shekhawat said efforts can be made with speed and on a higher scale to achieve self-sufficiency in the edible oils sector and also to increase the income of farmers in line with Modi's vision.

He suggested establishing small units "at the farmgate level" to process oil and packaging and branding them to not only give value addition to farmers, but also to generate employment opportunities at the village level.

"The government is incentivising in many ways for establishment of these types of small units," he said.

Officials said India at present requires 15 million tonnes of edible oils, whereas production stands at around 8.50 million tonnes.