- Oilseeds are generally, seeds grown primarily for the production of edible (i.e. cooking) oils. India is one of the major oilseeds grower and importer of edible oils.
- The diverse agro-ecological conditions in the country are favourable for growing 9 annual oilseed crops, which include 7 edible oilseeds (groundnut, rapeseed & mustard, soybean, sunflower, sesame, safflower and niger) and two non-edible oilseeds (castor and linseed).
- India has been forced to go in for large imports of edible oils since the domestic production of oilseeds falls short of demand. The self-sufficiency in oilseeds attained through “Yellow Revolution” during early 1990s, could not be sustained beyond a short period.
Growing conditions:
Temperature: most of them (Ex. groundnut) require warm temperature 20°-30°C. However, rapeseed and mustard are cool climate crops.
Rainfall: 50-75 cm rainfall. Dry winter is needed at the time of ripening. 91 per cent of the total area under groundnut is devoted to kharif crop.
Soil: Well drained light sandy loams, loams, red, yellow and black cotton soils are well suited for cultivation.
Susceptibility: They are highly susceptible to frost, prolonged drought, continuous rain and stagnant water.
Distribution:
- After China, India is the second largest producer of groundnut and is third in position in the production of Rapeseed after China and Canada.
- Major Oilseeds Producing Areas in India are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh.
Present status:
India accounts for about 15-20 per cent of global oilseeds area, 6-7 per cent of vegetable oils production, and 9-10 per cent of the total edible oils consumption.
Sparkling the yellow revolution again in India:
Yellow Revolution improved productivity but could not help in increasing oilseeds production significantly owing to following reasons:
- Lack of irrigation especially micro-irrigation- When it comes to crop-wise coverage of irrigated area (2016-17) almost 70 per cent of cereals and 52 per cent of foodgrains are covered under irrigation. But when it comes oil seeds, the coverage of the irrigated area is 27.8 per cent.
- Lack of quality seeds- domestic availability of oilseeds in India falls way short of needs in domestic demand for edible oil.
- Poor marketing infrastructure
- Lack of cohesive government policies
- lack of awareness
- Change in cropping pattern leading to significant decrease in area under oilseeds production.
As of now, there is no comprehensive strategy when it comes to the production of oil seeds.
The strategies for enhancing the productivity (and profitability) of oilseeds as under:
- Increasing seed production and distribution of newly released varieties.
- Low-cost technologies with high impact on productivity will result in higher income which will encourage farmers to go for oilseeds farming.
- Strategies with emphasis on quality improvement and value addition leveraging technologies with a bearing on the employment through skill/ entrepreneurship development.
- Promotion of GM seeds.