NEW DELHI: In an attempt to make India self reliant in edible olive oil, the government of Rajasthan has imported 100,000 saplings of olive plants from Italy, Spain, Israel etc. for replanting in the state-owned field on experiment basis.
Speaking on the sidelines of the road show organized by the government of Rajasthan on its upcoming event “Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM) to be held between November 9 and 11 this year, Prabhu Lal Saini, Minister of Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Husbandry, Government of Rajasthan, said: “The agro climatic condition of Rajasthan suits plantation of olive plants which we want to exploit for long term sustainable basis. We have imported 100,000 samplings of olive plants and re-planted around half of that in 5,000 hectares of land. This will reduce our olive oil import.”
Olive oil is the highest priced edible oil in India ranging between Rs 850–1200 a kg and imported primarily from Italy, Spain and Israel. In summer, the olive plant requires 47 degrees celsius of heat while in winter minus 6-7 degrees celsius of cold climate is needed. Rajasthan enjoys this type of temperature diversity. Hence, olive plants can comfortably be growth in the state. However, the minister urged governments in the neighbouring states to join hands to grow olive plant in India to increase its availability, which will automatically help reduce prices.
“To support oil initiative in olive plantation, the government has set up a refinery also,” said Neelkamal Darbari, Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Horticulture, Government of Rajasthan. Data compiled by the Olive Oil Association (OIA) showed India’s imported olive oil at 11,254 tonnes for the FY16 as against 12,621 tonnes in FY15.
According to the V N Dalmia, Founder President of OIA, the government of Rajasthan lacks technology for converting olive fruits into oil. The government plans to sell crude olive oil which requires refining to make it edible. The olive plants which start yielding fruits in three years require a modern refinery with advanced technology adoption from countries like Israel, Italy and Spain, Dalmia added.
Rajasthan, with 25.5 million ha (14% of India’s total) cultivable land, is the leading producer of pulses, edible oilseeds, cereals like bazra and maize. Apart from that the state produces a large quantity of fruits for processing. The growth of olive plant in Rajasthan assumes significance in the wake of India’s over 60% of edible oil demand (~23.5 million tonnes) is met through import.
“Apart from that the government of Rajasthan has taken several initiatives to incentivize farmers and industrialists to become a partner in agriculture growth in the state to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream to double farmers’ income by 2022,” Darbari said. Given the impetus laid on olive plantation, India can be self reliant in olive oil in the next couple of years, the minister added.
