Palm oil is the world's most consumed edible oil derived from Palm fruits. It is used in most packaged food, cosmetics, detergents, chemicals, energy to pharmaceuticals, and even in animal feed.
Indonesia and Malaysia are the world's largest palm oil producers. It is an incredibly efficient crop.
Now why are we talking about this?
Cabinet recently approved palm oil focused national mission on edible oils, worth Rs 11,040 crore, and the focus area will be northeast of India and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
With this move, the government expects to increase palm oil production to 11.2 lakh tonnes by FY26 and 28 lakh tonnes by FY30 and thereby reducing import dependency.
Indian companies like Godrej Agrovet, Adani Wilmar, Ruchi Soya and ITC are set to benefit from this move.
What is the controversy around palm oil?
It is considered to be a major driver of deforestation and has also led to the destruction of endangered animal’s habitats in various regions of Indonesia and Malaysia.
The palm plantation also led to the conversion of rich soils to millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change.
There is also an ongoing case in the Supreme Court on plantation of palm in the Andaman regions.
A report submitted by the Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education to the court in January 2020 had said that the introduction of palm oil should be avoided in biodiversity-rich areas, including grasslands without detailed studies on its ecological impact.
Again in June this year, an affidavit is filed with the report and ICFRE has again recommended comprehensive and detailed studies to assess the invasiveness of oil palm in Little Andaman.
While there are real fears of impact on biodiversity, we will have to see how the government balances the ecology with its decision on palm oil plantation.
(Edited by : Bivekananda Biswas)
First Published: Aug 26, 2021 5:39 PM IST
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