Our Reporter
Dimapur, Feb. 22 (EMN): The Nagaland department of Agriculture implemented the national food security mission on oilseeds and oil palm (NFSM-OS and OP) with the objective to boost the production of oilseed and to enhance palm oil production in the country.
The diverse agro-ecological condition in the state is favourable for growing eight annual oilseed crops, which include six edible oilseeds (groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, soy bean, sunflower, sesame and one non-edible oilseed linseed), states the annual administrative report for 2019-20 of the Agriculture department.
In the report, the department maintained that oilseed cultivation is undertaken across the state in about 68.52 thousand hectares mainly on marginal lands, which is mainly rain-fed farming. It reported that during the past few years, the domestic consumption of edible oil has increased substantially and is likely to increase further with per capita consumption of vegetable oils at the rate of 16 kg per year per person.
The department reported that it had distributed certified seeds and taken up training of trainers (TOT) programmes as part of the NFSM oilseeds during 2019-2020. See table 1
The department of Agriculture implemented the national food security mission on oil Palm (NFSM), as substantial portion of requirement of edible oil in the country is met through import of palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia. Therefore it is necessary to exploit domestic resources to maximize production to ensure oil security for the country.
The annual administrative report of the department reported that oil palm is comparatively a new crop in India and is the highest edible oil-yielding perennial crop. With quality planting materials, irrigation and proper management , the department maintains that there is potential of achieving 20-30 MT of fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) per hectare per year after attaining the age of five years.
According to the annual report, of the areas of oil palm plantation per hectare, Dimapur district agriculture office (DAO) covers the largest area with 572 hectare and subdivision agriculture office (SDAO) of Medziphema covers the least area with 25 hectares. See table 2
