Oilseeds and the edible-oil gap

Detail

What oilseeds are and where they grow

• Oilseeds are crops whose seeds are crushed to get edible oil (oil we cook with). The cake left after crushing is fed to animals.
• Share of land:
• They cover about 14% of India's total cropped area (NCERT Class 12).

• Class 10 NCERT gives about 12%.

• Main crops (Class 10 list): groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesamum (til), soybean, castor, cotton seed, linseed and sunflower.

• Most are edible.

• Some are also used to make soap, cosmetics and ointments.

• Where they grow: mainly in the drylands, meaning areas with low rainfall and little irrigation:

• the Malwa plateau (Madhya Pradesh)
• Marathwada (Maharashtra)
• Gujarat and Rajasthan
• Telangana and Rayalaseema (Andhra Pradesh)

• the Karnataka plateau

• Why the drylands?

• Most oilseeds need little water and can grow on poor soils.
• Farmers with irrigation usually grow rice, wheat or sugarcane instead.

• So oilseeds are pushed onto rainfed land, where yields are low and swing from year to year.

• Output (2024-25): India grew a record 42.99 million tonnes (Mt) of oilseeds. That is 56% more than in 2014-15 (27.51 Mt) [4].

• World share: India grows about 5–6% of the world's oilseeds [4][5].

Seasons of oilseeds

• Kharif means crops sown with the south-west monsoon (June–July) and harvested in September–October.
• Rabi means crops sown in winter (October–December) and harvested in spring (April–June).

Crop	Season	Note
Groundnut	Kharif	Also rabi in the south
Mustard	Rabi	Damaged by frost
Linseed	Rabi	—
Sesamum (til)	Kharif in the north, rabi in the south	Season changes with region
Castor	Kharif and rabi	Grown in both seasons
Soybean	Kharif	Grows in the monsoon on black soil

Groundnut

• Groundnut is a legume. Its pods grow and ripen under the soil. It is a mostly rainfed kharif crop of drylands. In south India it is also grown in rabi.
• Area: about 3.6% of India's cropped area.
• Share: about half of the output of the major oilseeds (Class 10).
• World rank:
• India grew 18.8% of world groundnut (2018).

• India was second after China (2020, Class 10).

• States, in order (2019-20): 1. Gujarat 2. Rajasthan 3. Tamil Nadu

• Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra also grow it.

• Yields:

• High in Tamil Nadu, where part of the crop is irrigated.
• Low in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, where the crop depends on uncertain rain.

Rapeseed and mustard

• Rapeseed and mustard is a group of oilseeds of the mustard family. It includes rai, sarson, toria and taramira.
• Climate:
• They are subtropical rabi crops. They need cool, dry winters.

• They are sensitive to frost. A cold night at flowering time can harm the crop.

• Area:

• They grow in the north-west and centre of India.
• They cover about 2.5% of the cropped area.

• About two-thirds of their area is irrigated.

• States:

• Rajasthan gives about one-third of the output.
• Haryana and Madhya Pradesh follow.
• Yields are high in Haryana and Rajasthan.

Soybean, sunflower and others

• Soybean is a kharif legume. It gives oil, and protein-rich meal for animal feed.
• Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra together grow about 90% of it (NCERT).
• It grows on the black soils of the Malwa plateau and Vidarbha–Marathwada.

• Soybean meal (the cake left after oil is taken out) is a major export as animal and poultry feed.

• Sunflower grows in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and nearby parts of Maharashtra.

• Coconut is the main oil crop of the coastal states. Cotton seed is a by-product of cotton.

The edible-oil gap

• The edible-oil gap is the difference between the oil India uses and the oil it makes itself. Imports fill this gap.
• How big is the gap?
• Import dependence fell from 63.2% (2015-16) to 56.25% (2023-24) [4].

• Imports meet about 57% of the domestic demand for edible oil. Home production meets only about 44% [5].

• Where the imports come from:

• Palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia
• Soybean oil mainly from Argentina (also Brazil)

• Sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine

• Why the gap exists:

• Rising demand: people earn more and the population grows, so they eat more oil.
• Low yields: about 70% of the oilseed area is rainfed, and good seed is often not available.
• Cheap imports: low-cost palm oil takes away the farmer's price advantage.
• Result: India pays a large import bill, and kitchen prices move with world markets and with wars such as Russia–Ukraine (2022).

Past effort: the Yellow Revolution

• The Technology Mission on Oilseeds (TMO) began in 1986.
• It brought better seed, better methods, price support and processing.
• Oilseed output grew so fast that it was called the "Yellow Revolution" (yellow for the mustard flower).
• What went wrong: in the 1990s import duties were cut. Cheap imported oil came in, and India's dependence rose again.

National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), August 2021

• Oil palm is a tropical tree. Its fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) give crude palm oil (CPO). It gives far more oil per hectare than any other oil crop.
• NMEO-OP is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, meaning the Centre and the states share the cost [3]:
• It adds 6.5 lakh ha of oil palm by 2025-26, to reach 10 lakh ha in the end [3].
• CPO output was to reach 11.20 lakh tonnes by 2025-26 and 28 lakh tonnes by 2029-30 [3].

• Outlay: ₹11,040 crore. The Centre pays ₹8,844 crore and the states pay ₹2,196 crore [3].

• Main focus area: the North-East and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These places have high rainfall and a warm, wet climate.

• Price promise to farmers:
• Viability price: a guaranteed price for FFBs. If the market price falls below it, the government pays the farmer the difference. This payment is called viability gap funding [3].
• Formula price: industry must pay farmers 14.3% of the CPO price, rising to 15.3%. This price is fixed every month [3].

• In the North-East and Andaman, the government pays an extra 2% of the CPO price, so farmers there get the same as farmers elsewhere [3].

• Criticism:

• Oil palm plantations may replace forests in the biodiversity hotspots of the North-East and the Andamans, and harm wildlife.
• Oil palm needs a lot of water.
• It is a monoculture (one crop over a large area). It takes 4–5 years to give fruit, so farmers are locked in for a long time.

National Mission on Edible Oils – Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds), October 2024

• Period: the Cabinet approved it for 2024-25 to 2030-31 (seven years). Outlay: ₹10,103 crore [2].
• Targets:
• Raise primary oilseed output from 39 Mt (2022-23) to 69.7 Mt by 2030-31 [2].

• Together with NMEO-OP, raise domestic edible-oil output to 25.45 Mt by 2030-31. This would meet about 72% of the expected demand [2].

• How it will work:

• Bring 40 lakh ha of new land under oilseeds. This includes rice-fallow and potato-fallow land (land left empty after the rice or potato harvest), intercropping and crop diversification [2].
• Set up 65 new seed hubs and 50 seed storage units in the public sector [2].
• Build 600+ value-chain clusters in 347 districts, covering over 10 lakh ha every year [2].

GM mustard (DMH-11)

• GM (genetically modified) crop: a crop whose genes have been changed in a laboratory to give it a new trait.
• DMH-11 (Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11):
• It is a hybrid, a crop made by crossing two different parent lines to get higher yield.

• It was developed at Delhi University by a team led by Deepak Pental.

• How it is made (the barnase-barstar system):

• The barnase gene makes one parent line male-sterile, so it cannot pollinate itself.
• This parent can then be crossed only with the other parent, which carries the barstar gene.
• Barstar blocks barnase, so the hybrid seed is fertile again.

• Result: mustard, which normally pollinates itself, can be made into hybrids on a large scale.

• GEAC approval:

• The GEAC (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee) is the body under the environment ministry that approves the release of GM organisms.
• At its 147th meeting on 18 October 2022, it approved the environmental release of DMH-11 and its parent lines. The release was for seed production and testing under ICAR guidelines [6].

• The government said studies on toxicity, allergy, composition and field trials found it safe for cultivation, food and feed [6].

• Supreme Court case (Gene Campaign v. Union of India):

• On 23 July 2024, a two-judge bench gave a split verdict [7][8]:
  • One judge was against release. That judge said its health effects had not been properly assessed.
  • The other judge called the conditional approval progressive.
• The case went to a larger bench.

• The Court told the Centre to make a national policy on GM crops, after talking to states, experts and farmers' groups [8].

• Concerns raised:

• Herbicide tolerance: the bar gene makes the crop resist the weedkiller glufosinate. This may lead to heavy weedkiller use.
• Honeybees: mustard is a major source of nectar for bees, and pollination and honey output may be affected.
• Centre of diversity: India is a centre of mustard diversity (a place with many native varieties). GM genes could spread to local varieties.

Prelims Hooks

• Largest groundnut producer: Gujarat, then Rajasthan, then Tamil Nadu (2019-20). India was second in the world after China (2020).
• Largest rapeseed-mustard producer: Rajasthan (about one-third), then Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.
• Sesamum is kharif in the north and rabi in the south. Castor is grown in both seasons. Linseed and mustard are rabi crops.
• Soybean belt: Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (about 90% together, NCERT). It grows on black soil.
• Technology Mission on Oilseeds (1986) led to the "Yellow Revolution".
• NMEO-OP (2021): 10 lakh ha of oil palm in the end, with focus on the North-East and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Industry pays 14.3% of the CPO price as the formula price [3].
• NMEO-Oilseeds (2024): 2024-25 to 2030-31, ₹10,103 crore, 69.7 Mt oilseed target [2].
• Edible-oil import dependence: 63.2% (2015-16) fell to 56.25% (2023-24) [4].
• DMH-11: Delhi University, barnase-barstar system. GEAC cleared it at its 147th meeting (18 October 2022) [6]. Trap: GEAC sits under the environment ministry (MoEFCC), not the agriculture ministry.
• Trap: groundnut yields are highest in Tamil Nadu (partly irrigated), not in Gujarat, the top producer.

Mains Points

• Why oilseeds stay weak (GS-III): they are grown on rainfed drylands (Malwa, Marathwada, Rayalaseema, Karnataka plateau) and face low yields, poor seed and cheap imports. As a result, about 56–57% of edible oil is imported [4][5]. This exposes India to world price shocks and wars.
• Policy response: TMO (1986) led to the Yellow Revolution, but tariff cuts reversed its gains. NMEO-OP (2021) and NMEO-Oilseeds (2024) now aim for about 72% self-sufficiency by 2030-31, using fallow land, seed hubs and value chains [2][3].
• Oil palm trade-off: high oil per hectare and less import dependence, against forest loss, wildlife loss and water stress in fragile North-East and island ecosystems. This links to sustainable agriculture and biodiversity.
• GM crops debate: DMH-11 shows the tension between higher yields and safety, where the concerns are herbicide use, bees and a centre of diversity. The Supreme Court's split verdict and its call for a national GM policy show gaps in regulation [7][8].