OIL FARMING IN INDIA: REAP PROFITS IN A WELCOME ECONOMY

Oilseed farming is the cultivation of crops that yield edible or vegetable oil that is used for human consumption as well as in many other industries as raw material. The crops that are cultivated for oil include soybean, oil palms, groundnut, sesame, sunflower, linseed, castor, coconut etc. These are used in food industries as well as the manufacturing of paints, perfumes, lubricants, medicines etc. The residue after extracting the oil from the seed is used as cattle feed and in other animal fodder.

OILSEED CULTIVATION IN INDIA

Oilseed cultivation is prominent in India who is the fifth largest producer in the world while also being one of the largest importers of edible oil. The Yellow Revolution of the 1990s boosted the oilseed production in the country but failed to sustain the growth of oilseed production in the later years. With a rising domestic and foreign demand for edible oil, oilseed cultivation is potentially highly rewarding in the Indian scenario.

The Indian Government has amended its policies on oilseed production and export activities to boost the oilseed agriculture in the country. Hence, if you are in oilseed production the time has never been riper to reap profits.

According to the National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil palm (NMOOP), currently the following exemptions are in place.

• Edible oils permitted for export in bulk as well consumer packs

1. Groundnut oil, sesame oil, soybean oil, rice bran oil, coconut oil
2. Minor forest product oils

• Edible oils permitted for export in only consumer packs upto 5 kgs with MEP of UDS 900 per MT:

1. Olive oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, cotton seed oil. linseed oil, mustard oil.

Various other promotional schemes are also introduced by the government to support oilseed farmers. By utilizing these incentives and the appropriate cultivation practices, oilseed cultivation has the potential to be highly profitable.

HOW TO ACE OIL FARMING IN INDIA?

To make the most of this conducive environment for oilseed farming in India, it is important that the cultivation is also thriving. The challenges faced by oilseed farmers are not easily overcome. These include,

• High ripening period of oilseeds like palms
• Scattered and small hold farmers
• Improper irrigation

A systematic farming framework needs to be followed religiously to reap a successful oilseed harvest. The best way to do this is through the use of modern technology that decreases these risks considerably. A Farm Management Software (FMS) can put your oilseed agribusiness into the right track through its advanced technological framework that improves profitability and sustainability.

• Accommodates multiple farms/farmers
  Small and scattered farms can be monitored and governed uniformly under the company farming policies to yield the desired quality and features of the product from a single point of control. All the contract documents as well as farm particulars of different farmers with full traceability are available at any time and place.

• Digital Farmer’s Diary
  The farmer’s diary which records the daily activities of the farm is an important document that not only gives incredible insight into the agricultural activity but also that supports your end to end traceability system. A farm software helps in digitizing this, thereby making it easier to analyze and share it with prospective clients. This is done through customizable mobile applications with regional language interfaces.

• Pest and Disease Management
  A Farm Management Software(FMS) helps in identifying the pests and diseases according to the local ecology and farming history. Properly identifying the root cause of disease or the origin of pests helps in using the right measures to solve this problem. This insight helps farmers to prepare for all possible risks regarding pests and diseases in the future as well.

• Sustainability
  The Sustainability module offered by Farm Management Software takes into account the four pillars of sustainability: Human, Economic, Social and Environmental. A Farm Software can keep track of sustainability initiatives and analyze the data to arrive at meaningful conclusions about how it benefits the agribusiness as well as the other stakeholders.

• Traceability
  Traceability is an important aspect that helps the customers to determine the authenticity of the agribusiness. A Farm Management Software uses advanced technology, like the Blockchain Technology, to safeguard farm data which can be accessed by prospective clients to check the quality of the product and track its journey from farm to fork.

• Farm Audits
  Farm Audits can be done through the mobile phones carried by the field staff to document and sync real time data through the farm management apps. It can provide highly insightful analysis on the yield, quality, crop health, adoption of the GAP, etc. Trace Agtech is an intuitive and feature rich farm management software that will integrate all of your contract farms and farmers on a single platform. It helps you in digitizing farm diaries, geo-fencing farms, pest/disease control, real-time support to farmers, expense tracking, yield forecasting, buying, quality control, farm audits, traceability, sustainability, training master trainers (TOT) & farmers, monitoring & managing field staff, etc.