CHAPTER I - DESIGN OF THE STUDY

INTRODUCTION

In fact, agriculture is the backbone of Indian Economy and is central to

all strategies of planned economic development in India. Agriculture accounts
for 14.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (2009-10) and provides
livelihood to 65 percent of the country’s population1. Besides providing food
grains to the people at large, this sector supplies raw material to the industries.
India has 328.7 million hectares of geographical area out of which net area in
cultivation is 141 million hectares. One of the unique features of India is that
43 percent of total land is cultivated as against 11 percent in the world and
almost 15 major climatic conditions of the world are in India. Out of 60
varieties of soil available all over the world, nearly 46 varieties can be noticed
in India. The direct contribution of the agricultural sector to national economy
is reflected by its share in total GDP, its foreign exchange earnings, and its role
in supplying savings and labour to other sectors. Indian agriculture has
progressed a long way from an era of frequent droughts and vulnerability to
food shortages to a developed state of being a significant exporter of
agricultural commodities. This has been possible due to persistent efforts at
harnessing the potential of land and water resources for agricultural purposes.
The achievements of Indian agriculture are based on a well chalked out
program whose “key-areas” are

a) Land reforms for better utilization of resources and motivation for farmers.
b) Creation of facilities such as irrigation, provision of electricity and
transportation.
c) Reforms in the financial structure paving the way for provision of reliable and
low cost funds needed for agricultural sector.
d) Investments in agricultural research and development.

1
T.Damodaram, D.M.Hegde, Oil Seed Situation - A Statistical Compendium
2010, Directorate of Oil seeds Research, Hyderabad, 2010.

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e) Development of Human Resources in the area of agriculture.
f) Encouragement and aid to allied activities of agriculture like Horticulture,
Floriculture, Sericulture, Dairy Industry etc.
g) Creation of a massive network of institutions which help in the process of
dissemination of the results of Research and development at the field level.
But there are some bottlenecks which are still obstructing the growth of
Indian agricultural sector and are preventing the sector from reaping the
benefits of above cited reforms. They are
1. Gap between potential and actual yields: There is a significant gap between
the possible yields and the actual yields realized by the Indian farmers. As
compared to the international yields per hectare, the yield is rather low
requiring renewed efforts to yield maximization.
2. Low level of value addition: The level of value addition to agricultural
products is very low as compared to world standards. It has been estimated that
nearly 30% of agricultural produce can be subjected to processing in addition
to the present level of processing, making agriculture more profitable to
farmers.
3. Inadequate research: There is strong need for further investment in Research
and Development in the agricultural sector to make crops more resilient and
resistant to diseases.
4. Inefficient usage of resources: Due to inefficient resource utilization there is
very high degree of wastage requiring more knowledge and better techniques
for farming.
5. Resource Degradation: There has been high level of resource depletion and
degradation caused by water logging of farms and excessive and unscientific
application of fertilizers and pesticides endangering the future productivity of
land.
6. Uneconomical Farm size: Due to the predominance of small and marginal
farmers the size of operations are very small to draw the benefits of scale of
operations.

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7. Low quality inputs: This is another major problem faced by the sector. The
unavailability of inputs of assured quality is one of the causes for the low
productivity of Indian agriculture. This can be seen in case of spurious quality
seeds, fertilizers and pesticides.
8. Overcrowding: In many rural areas agriculture is the only avenue for
employment. In the absence of any other opportunities for gainful employment,
too many people are working on farms leading to the predominance of
disguised unemployment and low productivity of human element in agriculture.
9. Inadequate credit facilities: The inaccessibility to reliable and cheap
agricultural credit continues to be a major problem for the Indian farmer and
his dependence on the informal sector has often been the cause for his
destruction.
10. Inadequate insurance against crop failure: The system of Crop Insurance
has not provided adequate coverage to the farmers and the different schemes
formulated have been inadequate and ineffective.

To meet these challenges there is need for further efforts to ensure that
the Indian agriculture achieves higher levels of efficiency and profitability.
Realistic assessment of the need for continued support and assistance to the
agricultural sector from the Government is the need of the hour. So the
agricultural sector must be empowered to meet the challenge of providing food
and jobs and raise the per capita income to all the people at large.

IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE TO ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT

Indian agriculture has been the source of supply of raw material to

leading industries in India. Cotton, Jute, Sugar, Vanaspati industries and
plantations depend on agriculture directly and also the cottage industries like
handloom weaving, oil crushing, rice husking and such depend upon
agriculture for raw materials.

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 Agricultural products like tea, sugar, oil seeds, tobacco, spices etc.
constitute the main items of export in India. Broadly speaking, the proportion
of agricultural goods which are exported amount to 50 percent of total Indian
exports and manufactured goods with agricultural content contribute to another
20 percent and the total comes to 70 percent of India’s exports. This has great
significance for economic development. Increased exports help the country pay
for the increased import of machinery and raw materials.

Moreover, the development in agriculture is an essential condition for

the development of national economy. As agriculture is the major occupation
of majority population it is in consonance with, good crops and large
purchasing power leading to greater demand for manufacturers and
consequently better prices. Prosperity of farmers is also the prosperity of
industries likewise; bad crops lead to depression in business.

Steady globalization of trade has profound implications for future

agricultural development. The diversity of India’s agro-ecological setting, high
bio-diversity and relatively low cost of labour provide potential for agricultural
competitiveness in a globalized economy. It is expected that with increasing
globalization of markets over the years there will be demand for agricultural
intensification. This will also be favoured because of greater backward and
forward linkages between agriculture and food industry. Therefore, increase in
production and productivity is bound to be strategically important to economy.

IMPORTANCE OF OIL SEEDS IN THE ECONOMY

Indeed, oilseed crops constitute the backbone of the Indian agricultural

economy. India stands third in the world after China and USA in the production
of oilseeds and contributes about 18 percent of the total oilseeds production of
the world. The oilseed crops have wide adaptability and are grown under varied
agro-climatic conditions throughout the world. Both the area and production
have increased considerably after the inception of All India Coordinated

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Project on Oilseeds. The annual oilseed crops grown in the country are
Groundnut, Rapeseed-Mustard, Linseed, Sunflower, Sesame, Safflower, Castor
and Niger seed. Oilseed crops are important for cooking, preparation of pickles,
flavouring the curry, animal feed, industrial use and as green vegetable.
Vegetable crucifers are major source of vitamins, fiber, minerals and proteins
in the human diet also. Sunflower oil is specially recommended for heart
patients. However, the oil especially from the castor and Niger seed is used for
industrial use in soap making, lubrication and paints. Besides oil, oilcakes rich
in proteins and essential minerals are used as cattle feed. Green foliages of
some crucifers particularly rapeseed-mustard are used as green vegetable.
Thus, oilseeds have a very significant role in Indian agriculture since almost
each part of the plant is consumed either by human beings or animals
depending upon the crop and its growth stage.

Oils and fats form an integral part of food, condiments, cosmetics, soaps
and detergents, lubricants and laxatives besides having medicinal and
therapeutic value. Thus these oilseed groups of crops occupy an important
place in India’s agricultural economy. These crops form the second largest
agricultural commodity after cereals in India sharing about 14 percent of the
country’s gross cropped area and contribute about 1.5 percent to its Gross
National Product and about 7 percent of the value of all agricultural products1.
About 14 million persons are engaged in the production of oilseeds and another
half a million in the processing. Therefore, in terms of value of output as well
as employment potential, the oilseed sector is more important than many large
industries put together.

India depends for its indigenous vegetable oil supplies on a wide variety
of oil yielding species of plants which include the annuals, perennials, minor
oil bearing species of forest and tree origin, non-traditional sources such as rice
bran, cotton seed, maize etc.
1
Idib

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Among the cultivated annuals, Sesame, Rapeseed-Mustard, Niger, Castor,
Linseed and Safflower are supposed to be the most ancient. Groundnut which
occupies a pre-dominant position in the national edible oil scene was
introduced in India, in the sixteenth century. Soybean and Sunflower are of
recent introductions. The annual oilseed crops together contribute more than
85% of the country’s indigenous vegetable oil supplies. Except a few all the
other oilseeds are edible oils. Castor oil is used as a lubricant in high speed
engines and aero planes, in the manufacture of soaps, transparent paper,
printing inks, varnishes, linoleum, synthetic resins and fibers, dyes, polishes,
electric condenser impregnation, carbon paper, ointments, cosmetics, artificial
leather and brake fluid. Linseed oil is an excellent drying oil used for
manufacturing of paints and varnishes, oilcloth, waterproof fabrics and
linoleum.

Perennial trees such as “Sal”, “Mahua”, “Karanj”, “Neem”etc. yield oils

of great commercial value, but their net contribution to the vegetable oil pool is
rather small. Coconut and palm oil make important perennial source of edible
oil.

There has been an impressive transformation of the Indian oilseed

economy from a “net importer” status in the eighties to the “self-sufficient” and
then a “net exporter” status during early nineties and so it has popularly been
termed as ‘Yellow Revolution”. The main factors responsible for such a
significant transformation are the oilseed production technology, the expansion
in cultivated area under oilseed crops, the price support policy and the
institutional support, particularly the formation of the Technology Mission on
Oilseeds.

Vegetable oils play major role in the human life. Of the total global
production of oils and fats, about 80% is used for food purposes, 6 percent used
in animal feed, and remaining 14 percent provides the basis of the oleo-
chemical industry.

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 There is vast potential to procure tree borne oils because of very large
forest areas in our country having different types of oilseed bearing trees.
Presently, this potential is not fully explored and only 5 lakh tonnes of minor
oilseeds are collected which gives about 1.25 lakh tonnes of oils. If proper
measures are undertaken this collection can definitely be increased to 35 lakh
tonnes of tree borne oilseeds yielding 6 lakh tonnes of oils in near future and
would generate employment in a big way thereby helping not only the tribal
but also downtrodden people of the society.

With limited scope to bring additional area under oilseeds, the future
increase in oilseed production has to come primarily from highlighting a
combination of high yielding plant type, Standard crop management practices
and balanced crop nutrition.

The domestic demand for vegetable oils and fats has been rising at the
rate of about 4 percent per annum whereas domestic output has been rising at
just around 2 percent per annum only2. This demand-supply gap has forced the
government to resort to large-scale imports of edible oils. The rising import bill
on this account has caused great alarm to the government. The growth and
stability of India’s food economy is, therefore, very much linked with the
growth and stability of its economy.

India occupies a prominent position on the oilseeds map of the world

both with regard to the area and production. About one tenth of total cultivated
area of the world is under oilseed cultivation in India, covering about 16.5
million hectors with a total production of 10 million tonnes.

2
O.K Owolarafe and C. Arumughan. “A Review of Oil Palm Fruit Plantation and Production
under the Contract-Growers Scheme in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu States of India”
Agricultural Engineering International: the CIGR E journal. Invited Overview, No. 4, Vol.
IX, March, 2007.

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Unlike cereals there is wide range of diversity available for the farmers to
select suitable oilseed crop keeping in view the field conditions, available
inputs for optimum yield and quality of the produce.

In recent years, there has been greater emphasis on the production of

oilseeds so as to achieve self-sufficiency. The minor and tree origin oilseeds,
which contribute about 16 percent of the vegetable oil consumption in the
country, have tremendous oil potential which needs to be fully tapped. Only
about 45 percent of the potential of these non-traditional oil sources was
exploited (1995-96), the balance of which could provide a sizeable quantity of
edible and non-edible oils, reduce the gap between demand and supply.

Oil palm and coconut are expected to contribute significantly towards

meeting the growing demand of edible vegetable oil. The above factors indicate
the importance of Oil palm cultivation in India.

NEED AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Despite the fact that India is one of the largest centers in the production
of oil seeds, it has been experiencing acute shortage of vegetable oils for over a
decade and a half, causing serious problems on the price front and drain on the
country’s foreign exchange reserves. The main problems faced by this sector
are low and unstable yield on one hand and prices on the other.

Prior to the Second World War, India enjoyed a premier position in the
world trade in vegetable oils and fats. Even today, it is the largest producer as
regards Groundnut and Sesame and the second largest producer with regard to
Rape/Mustard, Linseed and Castor seed. The point to be pondered over is that
the country turned from a net exporter, to net importer. Ever increasing internal
demand due to rapid growth of population, raising per capita income, rapid
industrialization, lack of availability of new land that can be brought under
oilseed cultivation and the low stagnant level of productivity per hectare, are
some of the important factors contributing to the observed shortage. It is

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paradoxical that the current consumption levels of crucial nutrients, such as,
oils and fats in the country are not only below the world average but also far
below the minimum nutritional requirements recommended by the ICMR. Low
rates of growth in production, high instability in production and prices, virtual
instability in yield levels, considerable speculative trading in oilseeds, are some
of the conspicuous features of India’s oilseeds economy.

The per capita consumption of oils and fats per year in India was 11.2
kg in 2008-09 as against World’s average of 17.8 kg. Per capita consumption
of oils and fats in developed countries is 48 kg. The availability of oils and fats
in India is only 12 grams per day per head as against a minimum requirement
of 18grams recommended by FAO. To meet this minimum nutritional
requirement, vegetable oil production should be increased one-and –a-half
times more compared to the current production and hence the present situation
needs immediate attention for boosting oilseed production in the country.

The domestic demand for vegetable oils and fats has been rising rapidly,
at the rate of over 4 percent per annum while the output has been rising at just
around 2 percent per annum. This big and ever-growing gap in the domestic
supply of oilseeds has forced the government to resort to large scale import of
edible oils. The import bill on this account has jumped from about Rs. 15
crores during 1975-76 to over Rs. 1000 crores in 1982-83 which further
increased to Rs.1130 crores during 1984-85, making it one of the single largest
items of imports after petroleum and fertilizers. Unfortunately, the gap is
continuously widening, causing a heavy drain on the foreign exchange reserves
of the country. India which once held a prominent position in the export trade
of oil became largest importer of edible oils. The growth and stability of India’s
food economy is, therefore, very much linked with the growth and stability of
India’s oilseeds’ sector.

Indigenous production and adequate supplies of vegetable oils were

identified as major thrust areas and consequently a National Oilseeds Mission

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was launched for quick reduction of the yawning gap between production and
demand in the short run and to plan for sustained and increased production for
adequate availability of this commodity.

An efficient oilseed processing industry is a basic prerequisite for

maximizing economic returns to the oilseed farmer and, indeed, to the society,
besides providing a fair deal to consumers. As the domestic vegetable oil
production is not sufficient to meet domestic demand, about 8.82 million
tonnes of vegetable oil was imported during 2009-10 compared to 4.7 million
tonnes during 2006-073.

With a rather low growth rate, Indian agriculture is slowly facing a

distress situation. Considering population growth rate of 1.8 percent (close to
20 million additions every year) and income increases through economic
growth (assuming an average of 8.5 percent a year). Consumption demand for
vegetable oil is set to expand on an average by 6-7 percent each one of the next
five years. This translates to roughly 7 to 8 lakh tonnes of additional demand
every year. By 2015, India’s total vegetable oil consumption demand at 6
percent growth rate is slated to reach 25.6 million tones. As India’s vegetable
oil consumption demand is expected to be faster than the domestic production
growth, it is really an alarming situation for the country. In addition to oilseed
scarcity, there is mismatch between low raw material production and high
processing capacity and leading to situation of “too much capacity chasing too
less raw material (oilseeds)”. Apart from low capacity utilization in the
processing industry, there is pervasive sickness particularly among oil mills
and solvent extraction units. Most of these are outdated and in need of
renovation and modernization. Low priced imported oils already had negative
impact the domestic front.

3
A.Majumdar, A Report on Oil Palm Area Expansion, Department of Agriculture and Co-
Operation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, 2010.

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 Undoubtedly the above issues are creating a great many problems for
the Indian vegetable oil industry and the best way to overcome these problems
is to have efficient management of oilseeds economy, including production and
processing of oilseeds and oils, as well as improvements in their technologies
which are of critical importance for the economic health of India. There is lot
of scope for technological improvements in this sector. Indian vegetable oil
industry has been ordered to reduce utilities consumption like water, steam,
acids, power besides bleaching earth.

In view of the above, serious efforts have to be made to step up the

production of oil seeds in the country. To improve the production, reasons for
low production should be identified. Oil seed growers should be provided with
necessary facilities.

Also problems associated with oilseed cultivation should be identified

and rectified to improve the performance of existing cultivators and to
encourage the new entry.

21st Century is looking for promising and high yielding crops coupled
with higher nutritive value, eco-friendliness and sustainability. Oil Palm has
been recognized as one of the best yielding crops which can yield of 4-6 tonnes
of oil from 3-30 years of life span and produces two distinct oils i.e. Palm oil
and Palm Kernel Oil, which are used for culinary as well as for industrial
purposes. Oil palm with high yield of 4-6 tonnes oil per year compared to other
nine annual oil seed crops and high nutritive value, rich in vitamins A& E,
provides sustainable income (monthly three harvests) and remains for 25 years
adding a lot of organic matter to soil. Moreover, it suits well for eco-friendly
environment and forms an excellent import substitute consequently it helps in
saving foreign exchange.

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But Oil Palm cultivation is subjected to several problems

1. High degree of fluctuations is observed in the annual production

owing to cultivation predominantly under low and uncertain rainfall.

2. Poor crop management leads to low yield.

3. There exists a wide variation in productivity because of lack of

scientific production technology.

4. Finally the policy reforms pertaining to Palm oil cultivation are not
favourable to higher yield.

In the light of the above it is intended to study the trends and patterns of
growth of Oil Palm over time, and to make an in-depth analysis of the
Problems associated with Financing, Marketing and Production of Oil seeds in
India with special reference to Palm Oil cultivation in Krishna District.

Review of Current Literature

Several studies have been made in the area of oil seed cultivation in
India and abroad in general and palm oil cultivation in particular. Most of these
studies are in the form of Committee Reports, Research Papers, Books,
Journals, and Doctoral Theses.

An attempt is made here to review the previous studies in the area of oil
seed cultivation.

P.Srinivas et.al1. in their study made an attempt to study the seasonal

effects on bunch components and fatty acid composition in Dura Oil Palm in
the wet and dry seasons. Through their study it was found that different
harvesting times effect oil content and fatty acid composition in the oil. They
also identified that oil content and fatty acid composition in the Oil Palm are
influenced not only by genetical but also by environmental factors.

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 Kusum R., Bimmayya H., Fayaz Pasha P. and Ramachandran.H.D2 have
conducted a comparative analysis of current status and future prospects of Rice
Bran Oil and Oil Palm. They have made an attempt to assess acceptability of
these two oils. They concluded that both give higher yields in comparison with
other oil yielding species and both have ability to control cholesterol levels.

Rosli.B.Mohamad et.al3 conducted a study to compare the performance

of common broad spectrum herbicides of Paraquet, Glyphosate and
Glufosinate-ammonium to control weeds and their impact to the surrounding
ecological components of an oil palm plantation. Their study revealed that
Glyphosate and Glufosinate-ammonium showed greater effectiveness than
Paraquet. And also it was found that the herbicides, applied at their
recommended rates, left no residual effects on the surrounding ecological
components of Oil Palm Plantation.

I.V.Y.Rama Rao and V. Rajendra Prasad4 made an attempt to assess the

impact of WTO on production & productivity of oil seeds in AP by estimating
the patterns of growth & magnitude of instability. Their study revealed that
growth performance of oil seeds production was higher during pre WTO period
than post WTO period but it was accompanied by high degree of instability.

1.P.Srinivas et.al., “Seasonal Effects on Bunch Components and Fatty Acid Composition
in Dura Oil Palm”, African Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. 6(7) , pp – 1835-
1843,4 April,2011.

2. Kusum R., Bimmayya H., Fayaz Pasha P. and Ramachandran.H.D, “International

Journal of Plant psychology and Biochemistry”, Vol 3(8),pp 125-132, August 2011.

3. Rosli.B.Mohamad et.al. “Comparative Impact of a Single Application of Selected

Broad Spectrum Herbicides on Ecological Components of Oil Palm Plantation”, African
Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. 5(16), pp – 2097-2102, April, 2010.

4. IVY Rama Rao and V. Rajendra Prasad, “Impact of WTO on oilseeds scenario in
Andhra Pradesh”, Journal of Oil seeds Research, Indian Society of Oil seeds Research,
Directorate of oil seeds research, volume 27, No1. June 2010

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Decomposition analysis also revealed that area effect was higher than the
production effect on the production differential in costal Andhra, Telangana
and Rayalaseema. They stated that growth in production should mainly come
from area attributing factors like assured supply of farm input, and provision of
remunerative prices etc. in coastal Andhra , Telangana and Rayalaseema
regions.

Kalanithi Nesaretnam5 in his study on “Nutritional Attributes of

vegetable oils with special reference to palm oil” opined that among the major
vegetable oils, palm oil contribution is significant to the world oil market and it
would continue to play a leading role in world oils and fats market with greater
acceptance amongst the consumers. His nutritional studies showed no
detrimental effects on palm oil consumption.

Pathan.A.L, Sananse.S.L and Bhonde.S.R6 in their study on Groundnut

Production in India made an attempt to analyze the scenario of groundnut at
global level in connection with the scenario at national level and Maharashtra
State level. According to their analysis the most important groundnut growing
countries are India, China, Nigeria, Sudan and USA and in India, Gujarat is the
largest producer contributing 25 percent of the total production, followed by
Tamil Nadu (22.48 %), Andhra Pradesh (18.81%), Karnataka (12.64 %) and
Maharashtra (10.09%) during 2006-07.

5. Kalanithi Nesaretnam, “Nutritional Attributes of vegetable oils with special Reference

to palm oil”, Proceedings of National conference on oil palm, July, 2009

6. Pathan.A.L., Sananse.S.L and Bhonde.S.R, “Groundnut Production in India – Scope

for Extended Cultivation”, Financing Agriculture-A National Journal of Agriculture and
Rural development, March-April 2009.

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 P. Rethinam7 in his study on “Recent Advances in oil palm – A Global
perspective,” felt that a ‘Three Pronged Strategy’ should be adopted in
planning the research and development activities for the industry. The three
strategies are high-income strategy for maximization of the land use, biomass
utilization to optimally exploit non-oil biomass and value added strategy to
focus on high value products such as oleo chemicals and phytonutrients. He
suggested measures like enhancing productivity, improving efficiency of ECO
plantation, Capacity development and community development, crop
insurance, strengthening the research infrastructure to satisfy the
developmental need in order to meet the requirement of economically viable,
environmentally sound and socially acceptable oil palm development.

M.V. Rao8 in his study on “oil palm development in India – past, present
and future” opines that Andhra Pradesh is leading in oil palm cultivation from
Nellore to srikakulam and also in terms of production and productivity of the
crop. He expressed that concerted efforts by oil palm growers, officials of
Science Department, entrepreneurs and policy makers would make oil palm
crop as golden palm under Indian conditions. He suggested further learning
from the experiences of Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries where oil palm
is grown extensively and exploited not only for production oil but in the
production of whole range of products industrial, commercial and edible. He
concluded that adequate training and effective dissemination of technologies
should be given prime importance.

7. P. Rethinam, “Recent Advances in oil palm – A global perspective”, Proceedings of

National conference on Oil palm, July, 2009.

8. M.V.Rao “Oil palm development in India – Past, present and future”, Proceedings of
National conference on oil palm, July, 2009.

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 B.N.Patil, Dr.S.R.Bhonde and D.N.Khandikar9 conducted a detailed
study on the trends in area, production and productivity of groundnut crop in
Maharashtra state for the period of 1993-94 to 2006-07 and contribution of
various factors responsible for fluctuations in groundnut cultivation. They
identified that groundnut crop recorded remarkable decrease from 2003. The
production of groundnut was lowest during the year 2005-06 i.e. 274800 tonnes
as compared to 512300 tonnes during the year 1993-94 and this decrease in
productivity was due to droughts and insufficient monsoon rains, price and
non-price incentives announced by the Government from time to time for other
competitive and short duration varieties of oilseeds crops such as soybean,
sunflower and safflower crops.

H.P. Singh10 in his article on “National and International scenario of Oil

palm,” threw light on Indian and Global scenario of oil palm along with special
focus on Technological developments, methods of enhancing efficiency of
utilization, waste recycling and utilization, product diversification coupled
with details of oil palm processing units in various states. His identification is
that Malaysia and Indonesia are leading producers and exporters of palm oil
accounting for more than 85% of world palm oil production, and in India
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Naidu are the potential states. He found
that there has been an appreciable development in oil palm production,
processing and utilization across the globe including India.

9. B.N.Patil, Dr.S.R.Bhonde and D.N.Khandikar, “Trends in Area, Production and

Productivity of Groundnut in Maharashtra”, Financing Agriculture-A National Journal of
Agriculture and Rural development, March-April 2009.

10. H.P. Singh, “National and international scenario of Oil Palm”, Proceedings of National
Conference on oil palm, July, 2009 pp 23-30.

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 R.B.N. Prasad11 analyzed the Research & development strategies in
processing of oil seed. He states that efficient oilseed processing industry is the
basic prerequisite for maximizing economic returns to the oilseed forms and
“Good Research and Development” strategies are very important to extract the
last drop oil and to refine the oil using innovative methodologies.

M.N.Noormahayu, A.R.Khalid and M.A.Elsadig12 in their study on

“Financial Assessment of Oil Palm Cultivation on Peatland in Selangor,
Malaysia” explores the social and economic basis of oil palm cultivation in
Peat land. They obtained data by conducting survey of 200 farmers who
cultivate Oil Palm on Peat soil. They used Cobb-Douglass Production function
to model the financial output from oil palm in terms of costs of chemical inputs
and labour. They also calculated three financial indicators NPV, BCR and IRR.
Their results indicated that chemical inputs are more important than labour cost
in determining the level of financial output. Also they found that oil Palm
cultivation is a profitable investment so long as growth conditions, costs,
selling price and interest rate do not fluctuate substantially.

Olagunju13 in his research on “Economics of Palm Oil Processing in

Southwest Nigeria” focused on medium-large scale processers. The research
was undertaken to pursue the objectives of identifying the existing rural holders
processing techniques, evaluating the profitability of Palm Oil processing
enterprises and determining the factors affecting the net return of the
processors.

11. B.N. Prasad, “Research & Development Strategies in processing of oilseeds”, Proceedings
of seminar on Vegetable oils scenario: Approaches to Meet the Growing Demands, Indian
society of oilseeds research, DOR 2009, pp.314-340.

12.M.N.Noormahayu, A.R.Khalid and M.A.Elsadig , “Financial Assessment of Oil Palm

Cultivation on Peatland in Selangor, Malaysia”, Mires and Peat, Volume 5(2009), Article
02,pp1-18.

13. Olagunju, “Economics of Palm Oil Processing in Southwest Nigeria”, International

Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, 1(2), 2008.

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 R. Venkata Kumar, S.V. Ramana Rao, M. Padmaiah, D.M. Hegde14have
conducted a study on productivity potentials and profitability of non-monetary,
low-cost and cost-effective oilseeds production technologies. They opine that
popularizing of low cost technologies like integrated weed, water, nutrient and
disease management among poor oil seed growers can help to get remunerative
and sustainable yield as well as economic returns, inspite of import of huge
quantity of edible oils in the globalized market economy and remote chances of
acquiring additional area for cultivation of oil seeds from that of food grains.

D.M. Hegde15 in his article “Can India Achieve self-reliance in

Vegetable Oils” expresses that the oilseeds policy framework has to promote
the goals of economic efficiency and social equity through creative
combinations of policies, which puts a premium on science and technology. He
felt that public policy should support greater involvement of private sector in
providing imports and services to the farmer, the processor and the trader. He
further opines that the tariff policy should strike an appropriate balance
between the promotion of domestic production and of export, while
safeguarding the interests of consumers through reasonable inputs. His study
results on the determinants of net return showed that extraction cost, cost of
palm fruits are positively and significantly associated with the net return while
depreciation of tools and other inputs were negatively but significantly related
to net return. Also he found through his study that no significant relationship
exist between net return and variables like processing experience and labour
cost.

14. R.Venkata Kumar, S.V. Ramana Rao, M.Padmaiah and D.M.Hegde, “Productivity
Potentials and Profitability of Non-Monetary Low-Cost and Cost Effective Oilseeds
Production Technologies”, Journal of oilseeds, December 2009.

15. D.M. Hegde, “Can India Achieve Self-Reliance in Vegetable oils” vegetable oils
scenario: approaches to meet the growing demands, Indian Society of oil seed research,
Hyderabad, 2009.

18
 Ramadhar16 in his article on “current crisis due to confluence of factors”
opined that the crisis in 2009 had been triggered by a congruence of factors
including increased use of food grains for bio fuels, surging demand for
agricultural products due to population and economic growth and inadequate
supply of cereals - the lowest in three decades. He suggested that innovative
schemes, particularly for the small and marginal farmers, should be devised
along with streamlining of delivery systems. Bold and imaginative steps are
needed in most of the areas like input supply, technology generation and
dissemination rural infrastructure, agro-processing value addition and
marketing. In order to cause the benefits of Government programs reach the
target beneficiaries. His identification is that agriculture can become an engine
of growth in the rural areas provided its potential for employment generation
and poverty alleviation is fully tapped.

D.M. Hegde17 studied the past & present scenario of oil seeds and made
predictions on future of oilseed production in India with seed reference to
rapeseed and mustard. He opines that achieving self-reliance in vegetable oils
calls for new thrust for improving the productivity of oil seed crops through
exploitation of untapped yield reservoir by effective technology transfer,
demand driven research agenda to meet new threats and exploit fresh
opportunities, value addition to oilseeds and their products and by-products to
make them more competitive and favourable public policy which takes into
account the interests of all sections of oil seed sector.

16. Ramadhar, “Current Crisis due to Confluence of Factors”, The Hindu survey of Indian
Agriculture, 2008.

17. M. Hegde, “Oilseed Scenario in India-past, present and future with Special Reference to
Rapeseed Mustard”, sustainable production of oilseeds, Argotic Publishing Academy,
Udaypur, 2008, pp-13-35.

19
 Dr. P. Rethenam18 founder of Society for Promotion of Oil Palm
Research and Development discussed in detail the membership of the society,
privileges of members, subscription details and palm research and
development. He identified that oil palm was introduced as ornamental palm in
India a century ago, attained the status of plantation crop of the forest land
during 70s and 80s in Kerala and Little Andaman and had become the
marginal, small and big farmers’ crop under irrigated conditions since 1988.At
that time crop was being cultivated in 11 states in India and thousands of
farmers were taking up the oil palm replacing the then existing low value
labour intensive crops. He expressed that Society for Promotion of Oil Palm
Research and Development (SOPOPRAD) was formed to discuss common
issues and also to get to know technology transfer, programs identified and
solutions found out in the cultivation of oil palm.

DR. H.P.Singh19in his study on “global perspective of oil palm

industry”, opines that oil palm a gift from Guinea coast of west Africa, has
become the most important oil producing tree, which yields highest oil per unit
area compared to any other oil producing crop. Oil palm is grown as a
commercial crop in over 20 countries around the world. Malaysia and
Indonesia with favourable temperature and well distributed rainfall emerged as
the largest producers of palm oil and they contributed more than 85% of palm
oil production. In India, importance to oil palm was given by establishing an oil
palm research station in 1960. He concluded that although oil palm proved
economical for the farmers, due to long gestation period coupled with high
investment, there had been less interest. However, owing to support from Govt.
and technology, enhanced interest prevailed in the matter of oil palm
cultivation.

18. Dr. P. Rethenam, “Society for promotion of oil palm research and development”, National
conference on oil palm, 2008, pp1-4

19 .Dr. H.P. Singh, “Global perspective of oil palm Industry” National conference on oil
palm, 2008, pp. 5-9

20
 Dr. M.V.Rao20 studied the constraints in increasing productivity of
oilseeds. He identified that Indian oilseed processing industry suffered from
several problems like out dated technology, low rates of utilization of installed
capacity, low oil recovery and higher unit costs. He recommended that crop
ecological zoning, quality seed supply and effective technology transfer played
a major role in enhancing oilseed productivity.

Dr. M. Kochu Babu21 in his study on “oil palm Research in India – A

National perspective”, conducted a comprehensive research on initiation of oil
palm research, present setup of oil palm research, research achievements in
terms of crop improvement, crop production, crop protection, Harvesting and
post harvest technology, transfer of technology, ongoing research programs and
future strategies for improving oil palm research. He feels that oil palm is a
perennial and totally a new crop introduced under irrigated conditions in
different agro-climatic regions, warrants meticulous planning and conducting
of suitable research programs.

Sangay Guenka22 through his study on “Oil palm in India”, identified that at
the time of introduction of oil palm in India there was huge resistance from
farmers due to ignorance, lack of training and research, lack of processing
facilities and major downfall in prices of edible oil ever in history but with the
passage of time and with the efforts and support of Government farmers
confidence on oil palm increased as it is a perennial crop yielding for 25 years,
with low labour and maintenance requirement and in future big investments are
predicted in oil palm.

20. Dr. M.V.Rao, “Constraints in Increasing Productivity of oilseeds”, The Hindu survey of
Indian Agriculture, 2008.

21.Dr. M.Kochu Bau, “Oil Palm Research in India – A National perspective” National
Conference on Oil Palm, February 2-4, 2008, pp10-14.

22. Sanjay Goenka, “Oil Palm in India”, National conference on oil palm, February 2-4,
2008.

21
 K. Madhusudhana Rao23 in his article on “Oil palm development program
in Andhra Pradesh” focused on oil palm Act identified mandals for oil palm
development program and implementation of Technology Mission on Oilseeds
and Pulses (TMOP) His identification is that A.P. is the first state to formulate
and promulgate an oil palm act in 1993 and the act provided regulation for
cultivation of oil palm, processing and matters connected there with. He also
identified that 227 mandals were allotted to oil palm companies / processors as
factory zone in 8 districts for development of oil palm. His conclusion is that if
proper care is taken oil palm can become successful for commercial cultivation.

K.C.P. Rao24 in his study on self sufficiency of Edible oils in India opined
that after complete deregulation of trade in oilseeds and edible oils, the imports
of edible oils raised substantially. The share of edible oils in the total import
bill for agricultural commodities ranged between 6-52% during 1991-92 to
2005-06. The dramatic decrease in self-sufficiency over the five years is a clear
indication that globalization has already made an impact on this sector. The self
– sufficiency level dropped from 98% in 1992-93 to 56% in 2005-06. Export
earnings of oil seed cases and meals also decreased considerably. He concluded
that the state of self-sufficiency and competitiveness of oil seeds was less in
case of edible oils and oil seeds. He suggested that a combination of both price
and non-price strategies should be used to raise the self sufficiency level in
edible oils from 56% at present to atleast 66% over the next one decade.

23. K. Madhusudhana Rao, “Oil palm development program in Andhra Pradesh”, National
conference on oil palm, February 2-4, 2008.

24. Dr. K.P.C. Rao, “Can India achieve self sufficiency in Edible oils once again”,
Proceedings of National Seminar on Changing Global Vegetable Oils Scenario: Issues and
Challenges before India, 2007, Jan. 29-31.

22
 Dr. P. Rethinam25 in his article on “oil palm. A versatile oil yielding crop”
focused on the importance of oil palm and identified that oil palm emerged as
second largest oil yielding crop in the world. He conducted a collaborate study
on the advantages of cultivating oil palm and found oil palm to be the crop for
future. It is eco-friendly, environmentally sustainable, nutritive, import
substitute and useful for cogeneration as well as bio-fuel.Above all it can help
in elevating the socio-economic statusof the small and marginal farmers. Once
planted in field it starts yielding from the third year and upto 25 years. He also
focused on oil palm promotional activities in India, commercial plantation of
oil palm and oil palm development project.

Dr. N.B. Singh26 through his study on “Role of public sector in increasing
oilseeds production” opined that basic reason for success of first phase of
technology mission on oilseeds was the strong policy support of Government
of India for enhancing production along with logistic supports like processing
and market intervention through minimum support prices. He recommended
that in future also strong policy interventions are required for fixation of
minimum selling price and timely review of tariff on import of edible oils to
safeguard the farmers’ interest. He suggested that both public and private
sectors should join hands in enhancing the production of oilseed crops.

25.Dr. P. Rethenam, “Oil Palm A versatile oil yielding crop”, Proceeding of National seminar
on Changing Global Vegetable Oils Scenario: Issues and Challenges before India, 2007, Jan.
29-31.

26. Dr. N.B.Singh, “Role of public sector in increasing oil seed production” Proceedings of
the National seminar on Changing Global Vegetable Oils Scenario: Issues and Challenges
before India, 2007, Jan 29-31.

23
 O.K.Owolarafe and C.Arumughan27 through their study assed the
performance of Palm Oil Mills which are operating under the Contract –
Growers Scheme backed by Oil Palm Act in terms of technology acquision,
production efficiency and product quality. They found that technologies
adopted by these mills were locally sourced and the extraction efficiencies are
high. They recommended that there is need to plan the processing operations to
prevent nut-cracking in mills.

S. C. Manchanda28 in an interesting lecture on ‘Role of Indian mustard in

controlling coronary heart diseases’ states that the use of mustard oil can
contribute significantly to check increasing epidemic of coronary heart
diseases (CHD), which are the leading cause of death in the developing
countries. Manchanda emphasized that it is a healthy cooking medium because
of low saturated fatty acids (8%), high monosaturated fatty acids (70%) and
alpha linolenic acid (10%).He specifies that it also prevents cancer.

Dr. K.L.Chadha29 committee in their report on “progress and potential of oil

palm in India’ found that during last 15 years, the industry had seen several ups
and downs in the rate of area expansion, yield potential, price fixation and
establishment of processing facilities in the states. Govt. of India supported the
oil palm development progress with a number of subsidies and incentives to
achieve the desired momentum.

27. O.K.Owolarafe and C.Arumughan “Technological Capacity of Palm Oil Mills under the
Contract-Growers Scheme in India”, Agricultural Engineering International: the CIGR E
Journal, Vol. IX, November 2007.

28. S. C. Manchanda, “Role of Indian mustard in controlling coronary heart diseases”,

Current Science, VOL. 90, NO. 9, 10 May 2006.

29. Dr. K.L.Chadha, “Progress and potential of oil palm in India”, Department of
Agriculture and corporation, 2006.

24
 The committee critically assessed the experience of oil palm cultivation in
India, briefly reviewed oil palm technologies, identified suitable areas for oil
palm cultivation, identified sources for supply of planting material assessed the
processing facilities available and suggested ways and means for financing oil
palm development schemes.

Dr. Anil Kumar Singh30 in his study on productivity of agricultural farming

states that as more than 90% of the food consumed in India is produced locally,
the efficiency of production has to be improved for the well being of the poor
through the use of appropriate technologies. He feels that usage of bio
technology in conjunction with traditional farming practices is the sustainable
solution for the future and research and development funds should be directly
allocated to farmers’ organizations. He states that technology is the mantra for
the new millennium.

Dr. D.M. Hegde31 in his article “Becoming self reliant” discusses the oil
seed scenario in India and oilseed productivity growth. He felt that most of the
oilseed production had to come primarily from land saving technologies, high
yielding plant type and standard crop management practices. He suggested that
political and international pressures on the government to follow an import-
friendly policy must be resisted. Oilseed policy frame-work has to promote the
goals of economic efficiency and social equity through a creative combination
of policies.

30. Dr. Anil Kumar Singh, “Mantra for the new millennium”, The Hindu Survey of Indian
agriculture, 2006.

31. Dr. D.M. Hegde, “Becoming self-reliant”, The Hindu survey of Indian Agriculture, 2004.

25
 Yusof Barison and Chan Kook Weng32 in their article on “The Oil Palm
Sustainability” focused on the role Oil Palm as a vehicle for the eradication of
poverty in Malaysia. Their paper covered history of Malaysian Oil Palm
Industry, current status of the palm oil industry and economic, process and
product sustainability of Oil Palm.

G. Venkata Ramani33 in her article “Third in a row” felt that Indian

agriculture was put to an acid test during 2002-03. She found that in 2002-03
third time in succession the food grains production fell short of the set target
and the production from the nine major oil seeds was abnormally low and it
was 15-75 million tonnes against a target of 27 million tones.

S.M. Sharma34 in his book “Vegetable oil sources and enhancement of

Research in India” has dealt with constraints and opportunities of oilseed
production in India.

D.M. Hegde35 in his article “Measures to turn self-reliant” feels that

achieving self – reliance in oil seeds needs improvement in productivity of
oilseed crops through exploitation of the commercially untapped yield reservoir
by effective technology transfer, demand driven research agenda to meet new
threats and exploit fresh opportunities, values addition to oilseeds and their
products and by-products to make them competitive taking into account the
interests of all sections of oilseed sector.

32. Yusof Barison and Chan Kook Weng , “The Oil Palm Sustainability”, Journal of Oil
Palm Research, Vol.16, No.1, June 2004, p. 1-10.

33. Venkataramani, “Third time in a raw,” The Hindu survey of Indian Agriculture, 2004.

34. M. Sharma, Vegetable Oils-sources & Enhancement of Research in India, Jin Brothers,
New Delhi, 2003.

35.D.M. Hegde “Measures to turn self reliant” The Hindu survey of Indian Agriculture, 2002.

26
 G. Venkata Ramani36 in the article “Policies need to be farmer friendly” felt
that the agricultural development in the country should be put on a faster track
to meet food grain demand. She also stressed that to catch up with other
developing countries in agricultural production and to emerge as a leader in
farm production in the years to come, it is necessary to have innovative, farmer
friendly and implement table farm policy.

P. Rethinam37 in his study on the “Role of oil palm in meeting the

domestic edible oil needs” finds that palm oil is versatile oil being used for
more than 5000 years as domestic oil. 21st century will depend on promising
and high - yielding crops with higher nutritive value.

A.R. Sukumar38 through his study on status of oil palm in Andhra

Pradesh opines that Andhra Pradesh has tremendous potential for oil palm
cultivation. . He made a study on district wise potential of oil palm and found
that krishna district had an estimated area of 1,00,000 hectares and identified as
potential for the cultivation of oil palm . He focused on the incentives given to
the farmers, constraints in the implementation of oil palm project along with
the oil palm act, first implemented in Andhra Pradesh.

K.J. Prabhakara Rao39 in his study on “oil palm processing in Andhra

Pradesh”, observes that prospects for small scale plantations and matching
processing facilities are brighter as compared to large scale plantations.

36. G. Venkataramani “Policies need to be farmer friendly” The Hindu survey of Indian
Agriculture, 2002

37. P. Rethinam, “Role of Oil palm in meeting the domestic edible oil needs” proceedings of
National seminar on Oilseeds and Oils-Research & Development Needs in New Mille mum,
Indian society of oilseed Research, 2000.

38. A.R. Sukumar , “Status of oil palm in Andhra Pradesh,” Oil Palm Research and
Development, National Research Centre for Oil Palm 1999, pp102 – 107.

39. K.J. Prabhakar rao , “Oil palm processing in Andhra Pradesh”, National Research Centre
for Oil Palm, 1999 ,pp 99 – 101.

27
He states that concentrations on small scale plantations by the farmer are more
and it helps to increase in yield levels. He identified that in Andhra Pradesh, the
first plantation was taken up in 1987 -88.An extent of 120 was planted and at
later stages a pilot project was taken up by Department of bio technology in the
year 1990 – 91. In the initial years the return was low due to newness of the
cultivation & processing of oil palm crop. Taking real care was actually stated
in 1993.

P. Rethinam40 in his another study on “oil palm research and development

in India” analyses the historical background of oil palm production, present
status of production, yield and area, constraints in production and finally
research and development in the area. His observation is that India is going for
a vast expansion of about one million ha by 2020 AD so that 3 to 4 million
tonnes of crude palm oil and 0.3 to 0.4 million tonnes of palm kernel oil can be
produced by 2025 AD which can substantially contribute to the vegetable oil
pool of the country to meet the growing demand.

Dr. J.S.Khan, N.D. Seth and S.D. Gara41 in their article “Development of oil
palm processing Technologies” identified that per capita consumption of edible
oils is raising due to increase in population as well as improvement in socio
economic conditions of population. So it is imperative to increase productivity
per hectares of all oil seed crops. He suggested the precautions that should be
taken to improve the productivity of oil palm.

40. P. Rethinam, “Oil palm Research and development in India”, National Research Centre
for Oil Palm, 1999, pp1-10.

41. Dr. J.S.Khan, N.D. Seth and S.D. Gara, “Development of Oil palm processing
Technologies”, Indian Oil Palm Journal, Vol VII, No. 42, Mar-Apr. 1998.

28
M.A. Sreeram Chellappa42 conducted technology commercial analysis of oil
palm development in India as compared to other oilseeds. He opined that to
increase the competitiveness of oil palm there should be a very strong bondage
between industry and the farmer on one hand and Govt. with the industry on
the other.

Dr.K.L.Chada43 in his article, “Oil Palm Development in India – Opportunities

and Challenges”, opines that oil palm is a potential heavy yielder and as the
harvest is at 10-day interval there is every possibility to get income round the
year from its cultivation. But the challenges like shortage of power and limited
or non-availability of new electrical connections, non-availability of
refinancing by NABARD, reduction in import duty on edible oils are to be
considered.

K.Arya44in his article, “History of Oil Palm Development in India”, feels

that oil Palm is most reliable source of edible oil to meet the ever increasing
demand of edible oil and to achieve self-sufficiency. He studied the
introduction, development and Present Status of Oil Palm Cultivation.

_______________________________________________________________

42. A. Sreeram Chellappa, “Techno Commercial Analysis of oil palm Development in India
as compared to other oil seeds” Indian oil palm Journal, Vol VII, No. 41, Jan-Feb98.
43. Dr.K.L.Chada,” Oil Palm Development in India – Opportunities and Challenges”,
Seminar Proceedings on Opportunities and Challenges for Oil Palm Development in the 21st
Century”, Society for Promotion of Oil Palm Research and Development and National
Research Center for Oil Palm, January 19-21,1998,Pedavegi.

44. K.Arya,” History of Oil Palm Development in India”, Seminar Proceedings on

Opportunities and Challenges for Oil Palm Development in the 21st Century”, Society for
Promotion of Oil Palm Research and Development and National Research Center for Oil
Palm, January 19- 21,1998,Pedavegi.

29
 K.Manjunatha and Dr. Y.Raja Ram45 in their article “can we achieve self
sufficiency in edible oils” studied the constraints encountered by oil and
oilseed industry. They recommended that crop insurance should be introduced
to protect farmers from all kinds of risks and oil federation should be
strengthened in respective states by providing all financial assistance and
technical advice.

Dato Adbul Khaled Ibrahim46 conducted a study on competitiveness of oil

palm industry for the 21st century at a global perspective and presented his
findings in the international palm oil congress held between 23rd – 28th
September 1996. He states that 21st century will certainly offer more
opportunities than challenges to the oil palm industry. With the rapid shrinking
of agricultural land for food production the future looks promising for high -
yielding and high-nutrient crops. Oil palm is well – positioned to capitalize on
this ground.

P.G.Chengappa and P.K. Mandonna47 made a study on problems and

prospects of oilseed production in India. They found that production of oil
seeds recorded an impressive growth mainly due to the helpful marketing
intervention policy of the Government and consequently the import of edible
oil decreased and the export of oil meal and other minor oils increased resulting
in a positive trade balance in the oil seed sector.

45. K. Manjunatha and Dr. Y. Raja Ram, “Can we achieve self sufficiency in edible oils”,
Indian oil palm Journal, Vol. - VI, No.-33, Sep-Oct. 1996.

46. Dato Abdul Khalid Ibhrahim, “Competitiveness of Oil Palm Industry for the 21st Century
-A Global Perspective”, Indian Palm Oil Journal, Vol. VI, No.33, Sep-Oct 96.

47. P.G. Chengappa and P.K. Mandanna, “Oil seed production in India: prospects and
Problems”, Indian oil palm Journal, Vol. VI, No. 32, July-August 1996, pp.76-78.

30
 Dr. K.N.Ninar48in his book “Edible oil seeds growth, area responses and
prospects in India” made a comprehensive study of the production of oil seeds
and a systematic in depth analysis of factors influencing their supply. The study
includes a comparative analysis of the growth behaviour of oil seeds with the
other competitive crops. It also analyses the role of both price and non-price
factors, such as technology, irrigation, wealth and uncertainty across regions.

V.K. Abraham49 studied the potential of oil palm cultivation in India and
found that the cultivation of oil palm required good rainfall throughout the
year; soil must be physically fit, chemically balanced and biologically active.
He opines that in India Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala and
Tamilnadu are suitable for the cultivation of oil palm.

Dr. H.C.Srivastava, Dr.S.Bhaskaran, Dr.Bhartendu Vaksya, Dr. K.K.

Menon50 elaborately studied the Constraints and opportunities of oil seed
production in India. They considered environmental, technological socio-
economic, organizational and infrastructural constraints and relative
development programs formulated by Government to overcome these
constraints.

_______________________________________________________________

48. Dr. K.N. Ninar, Edible oil seeds growth, Area responses and prospects in India, Oxford &
IBM publishing company private limited, New Delhi, 1989.

49. V.K. Abraham, “Potential of oil palms cultivation in India - Problems and Prospects”,
proceedings national seminar on strategies for making India self- reliant in vegetable oils,
September 5th -`9th 1988.

50. Dr. H.C. Srivastava, Dr. S.Bhaskaram Dr. Bhartendu vatsy and Dr. KK G Menon, “Oil
seed production constraints and opportunities”, Oxford and IBH publishing co., New Delhi,
1985.

31
 P.C. Joshi51 in his Ph.D. thesis “Oil Seed Economy of India- a Case
study of Groundnut” presents a comprehensive analysis of the role of price and
non-prices factors responsible for shifts in acreage under groundnut. The study
brings out that, given the resource position of farmers, acreage allocation
decisions in respect of groundnut have been basically governed by profitability
of groundnut- vis-a vis competing crops, the relative profitability in turn seems
to have been influenced more by non price factors, such as technology and
availability of irrigation than by relative price.

K.Sengupta and P.K Das52 in their book “Cultivated annual oilseed

crops of India” have provided detailed information on various oilseeds
cultivated in India and their individual contribution to the edible oil industry.

51. P.C. Joshi, “Oil seed Economy of India – A case study of groundnut”, Agricole
Publishing Academy, New Delhi, 1982.

52. K.Sengupta and P.K Das, Cultivated annual oilseed crops of India, Naya udyog, Kolkata.

32
 In all the above studies focus is more on major oilseeds i.e. Groundnut,
Rapeseed-Mustard, Linseed, Sunflower, Sesame, Safflower, Castor and Niger
seed. No comprehensive study has yet been done to cover Oil palm in general
and the problems of Oil Palm growers in specific. So it is felt indispensable to
study the problems in palm oil industry in detail so as to fill the gap in the
management of Palm oil growers. Therefore the present study is specific in
terms of its nature, scope and period of the study and to make it a
comprehensive one, all aspects of Palm Oil cultivation are taken into
consideration.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study namely “Oil Industry in Andhra Pradesh-A Case study of

Production, Financial and Marketing Problems of Oil Palm Growers of
Krishna District” is carried out with the following objectives:

1. To depict the Agro - Sector in India viz. Production, Finance and

Marketing.
2. To study the growth of oil seeds in A.P. and India.
3. To discuss the Socio Economic profile of Oil Palm cultivators in the study
area i.e. Krishna District.
4. To analyze Production problems of Oil Palm cultivators.
5. To examine financial problems of Oil Palm cultivators.
6. To focus on marketing problems of Oil Palm cultivators.
7. To suggest remedial measures for difficulties faced by Oil Palm cultivators.

METHODOLOGY

The period of the study that has been taken is the decade of 2000-2001
to 2009-2010. It is felt that a period of 10 years reveals the required data and
other information sufficient to permit the pertinent analysis and helps in

33
drawing relevant conclusion, as it is sufficient to diagnose the main features
and trends relevant to the objectives of the study.

Primary data is collected through questionnaire from the sample

respondents located in Krishna District. Mainly Nuzivid Mandal and also
other mandals where Oil Palm is cultivated are considered in this study.

To collect primary data a questionnaire with 54 questions was

distributed to the oil palm growers and collected back. The sample size was
210. The sample was selected through Convenience Sampling Technique. The
data gathered was analyzed with the techniques like Z-test, ANOVA, Chi-
Square, Grouped Correlation, Linear Regression, Multiple Regression, NPV
and IRR.

SPAN OF STUDY

The study covers the recent ten years from 2000-2001 to 2009-2010 for
analysis of secondary data relating to oilseeds production and oil palm
performance The primary data relating to the opinions of farmers and market
intermediaries were collected during the years 2008-09 and 2009-10.However,
the base year for the study was 2008-2009.

COLLECTION OF DATA

Data can be categorized into two types – Primary data and Secondary
data. Primary data is the data which is collected directly from the respondents
by the researcher based on sampling. Collection of this data is time and money
consuming affair. Though it is unpublished, it is relevant to the problem and
the most accurate. On the other hand Secondary data is both published and
unpublished information which is readily available with external parties. Such
information may not be latest but unbiased.

34
 This study is based on both primary data and secondary data. Primary
data is collected from farmers and market intermediaries. The sources of
Secondary data pertaining to the study are:

1. Department of Agricultural, Hyderabad

2. Ministry of Agriculture, Hyderabad

3. Directorate of Oil Seed Development, Hyderabad

4. Ministry of Oil seeds, Hyderabad

5. Directorate of Oil seed Research, Hyderabad

6. Directorate of Oil Palm Research, Pedavegi

7. Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Hyderabad

8. Agriculture University Library, Hyderabad

9. Agriculture University Library, Bapatla

10. Horticulture Department, Vijayawada

11. Ruchi Soya Industries Limited, Ampapuram,

12. Godrej Agrovit, Pothapalli

More than primary and secondary, some other data is collected from Journals
and Publications.

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

The study namely “Oil Industry in Andhra Pradesh- A Case Study

of Production, Financial and Marketing Problems of Oil Palm Growers of
Krishna District” is subjected to the following limitations.

1. The study is restricted to oil palm growers.

35
2. The study is confined to some selected area of Andhra Pradesh i.e. Krishna
District.

3. Personal prejudices and biases of respondent may act as hindrance to the

study.

4. Sample size of survey is only 210 samples which may not give complete
picture.

6. Non-response error has occurred in research process because a few

respondents refused to give the information regarding the questions in brief
because of their unwillingness.

To overcome these limitations cited above care has been taken to make the
responses more objective and accurate.

PLAN OF STUDY

Keeping in view the objectives and for clarity and

comprehension, the study is presented in eight chapters. They are

Chapter – I - Deals with Design of the Study. It explains the Importance

of oil seeds in the economy, Need and scope of the study. It includes review of
current literature, Objectives of study, Methodology, Span of study, Collection
of data. Apart from this it also deals with limitations of study and plan of study

Chapter – II - Gives a Birds’ Eyeview Of Agri-Sector in India. It

covers the trends in agricultural production, Agricultural finance and
Agricultural marketing in India.

Chapter – III – Focuses light on Oil Seed Scenario in India. This

chapter deals with Different types of oil seeds; Cultivation of oil seeds,
Climatic conditions required, Production of oil seeds in different plan periods
and Production of oil seeds in Andhra Pradesh with special reference to palm
oil.

36
 Chapter – IV - Comprises Socio-Economic Profile of Oil palm
Cultivators in Krishna District. This chapter deals with distribution of
cultivators according to area, educational qualifications and land holding
among the sample population. It also covers the Role of weaker section,
Indebtedness of oil palm growers.

Chapter – V - Illustrates the Cultivation problems of Oil Palm

Cultivators in Krishna District.

Chapter – VI - Evinces Financial Bottlenecks for Oil palm

Cultivators in Krishna District.

Chapter - VII - Covers the Marketing Problems of Oil Palm

Cultivators in Krishna District.

Chapter – VIII - presents Findings and Suggestions. It put forth the

findings made in the study from various angles pertaining to the production,
financial and marketing problems of Oil Palm Cultivators and suggests various
viable measures to surmount the problems and also to tone-up the returns for
the Oil Palm Cultivators.

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