Business Summit on National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm in NE States held in Guwahati

A Business Summit for North Eastern States on National Mission on Edible Oil- Oil Palm was held in Guwahati. Addressing as chief guest at the Summit, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said that holistic and balanced development is the priority of the Prime Minister, now the Northeast is also in the race for development.

He further said, “It is always his (PM’s) endeavor that everyone should be together in the journey of development and its benefits should be distributed among 130 crore people, everyone should get fame. On the basis of the principle of ‘Sabka Saath- Sabka Vikas- Sabka Vishwas- Sabka Prayas’, the most successful efforts are being made under the leadership of PM Modi, for which response is also being received. The Prime Minister has given priority to the North-East region, which has now joined the race for development”.

Union Minister Tomar said that the North-East region has great importance in the country. The geographical location, climate, and beauty of this place are amazing. The richness that nature has carved out in the Northeast is nowhere else. This is a remote and inaccessible area, which was not kept in the priority list of development for a long time, but after taking over as PM, Modi has given priority to the Northeast region. In order to bring this backward area into the mainstream of the country, work is being done aggressively by making schemes under the leadership of the Prime Minister.

He asserted that under the vision & leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the Central Government has approved the National Mission on Edible Oil- Oil Palms worth Rs.11000 crores to tap the vast potential area of Northeast and reduce import dependence for oil palm. This mission is very important not only in terms of increasing oil palm production and reducing imports but also in terms of employment. With the investment coming here, a lot of employment will be created in this entire area and all-around development of the area will be possible, for which the central government is determined.

The Union Minister said that 28 lakh hectares of area in the country are suitable for palm oil cultivation, out of which about 9.62 lakh hectares are available in the Northeast alone. The mission also assures farmers of remunerative prices. If needed, the Viability Gap Payment will be transferred to the farmers' account through DBT. Farmers take advantage of the mission by doing maximum farming without any worries. The industry should come here, for which farmers should also contribute to creating an environment.

He said that the Prime Minister has emphasized that like food grains, our country should be self-sufficient in everything and exports should increase. Tomar said that most of the population of our country lives in villages and a large number of people work in the fields, if they have money in their pockets, then the markets of the country will also flourish, so whatever work the entrepreneurs and other people do, their priority area should be the farmer & poor.

This business summit was attended by all concerned stakeholders and the platform will have detailed discussions on various components of the mission and the way forward.

Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region and Tourism and Culture G. Kishan Reddy said that on the instructions of the PM, such an event is being organized for the first time in the Northeast, for which he thanked the Prime Minister and the Union Agriculture Minister.

Reddy said that the mission aims to promote the cultivation of palm oil so that the country can become self-reliant in the matter of edible oils. He expressed his confidence that all the states together would make this centrally sponsored mission a success. Reddy said that around 20 Union ministers are visiting the Northeast every month. Work is being done on a mission mode for railway connectivity in the Northeast. Work is also being done at a fast pace for all other facilities including roads, communication in the states of the region.

The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, Union Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Kailash Choudhary and Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region, B.L. Verma, Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, Sikkim's Agriculture Minister Lok Nath Sharma, other public representatives and Union Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal, Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Chief Secretary of Assam Jishnu Barua, etc. were present. 

Officers of various Central Ministries including Agriculture and Principal Secretaries and other officers of Agriculture Department of Assam, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura, Scientists of ICAR Institutes, CMDs of State Bank of India, Oil Processing Industries, Representatives of central and state organizations, progressive farmers were also present.