Tree-borne oilseeds can not only reduce India's import dependency for vegetable oils, but also provide livelihood to tribal communities
AS INDIA struggles to grapple with its growing imports for vegetable oil—over 67 percent of our current demand is met by imports—a hidden source of unlimited potential lies untapped. Tree-borne oilseeds (TBOS), a minor forest produce, can significantly contribute to averting this situation. TBOS are shed naturally by trees and are mostly collected by forest-dependent tribal communities.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare’s National Mission on Oil Seeds and Oil Palm (nmoop), India has about 10 TBO varieties, which include sal (Shorea robusta), neem (Azadi-rachta indica), mahua (Madhuca longifolia), karanj (Pongamia pinnata) and kokum (Garcinia indica). “We collect just 0.5 million tonnes of TBOS a year, while there is a potential to collect 3.5 million tonnes,” says B V Mehta, executive director, Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, the country’s premier vegetable oil producers’ association. A 2008 report by the Forest Governance Learning Group, an international initiative that works with forest dwellers, says India can produce 0.18 million tonnes of sal fat (unprocessed sal oil) each year against the current production of 6,0009,000 tonnes.
この記事は Down To Earth の April 16, 2018 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は Down To Earth の April 16, 2018 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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