National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm

The National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, approved by the Union Cabinet on 18 August 2021 with a ₹11,040 crore outlay, that pays farmers to bring new land under oil palm and protects their income from oil-palm-fruit price swings.

Farmers with cultivable, irrigable land in a state or district identified under the mission’s oil palm expansion zones, who are willing to commit the land long-term (oil palm fruits from year 4-5 and bears for 25-30 years) and sign a Fresh Fruit Bunch supply agreement with the processing company tied to that zone.

VGP is a price-protection payment. Each oil palm year (1 November-31 October), the government declares a Viability Price for Fresh Fruit Bunches. If the market-linked Formula Price you actually get falls below that Viability Price, the government pays you the gap directly by DBT — so a crash in international palm-oil prices does not wipe out your income.

Assistance for planting material and maintenance has been raised from ₹12,000/ha to ₹29,000/ha. There is separate support for drip irrigation, intercropping and farm machinery, and ₹250 per plant for rejuvenating or replanting old gardens.

The mission gives special incentives to North-Eastern states and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, but it is implemented across identified oil-palm-growing districts nationwide, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and the North-Eastern states. Confirm with your District Agriculture Office whether your specific district is a notified zone.

Apply through your State Agriculture or Horticulture Department when the plantation programme opens in your district, or register on the mission portal at nmeo.dac.gov.in. You will need land records, Aadhaar, bank details, and to sign a supply agreement with the identified processing company.

The Centre and State share costs 90:10 for North-Eastern and hill states, and 60:40 for other general states. Union Territories and central implementing agencies are funded 100% by the Centre.

No. The planting-material, maintenance, irrigation and machinery assistance is a subsidy/grant, and the Viability Gap Payment is a price-support payment — neither has to be repaid.

Oil palm typically starts fruiting around year 4-5 after planting. During this gestation period, the mission supports intercropping other food or cash crops between the rows so the plot is not idle, and helps with drip irrigation so the palms establish well.

That is exactly what the Viability Gap Payment is designed for. If the price your processing company pays falls below the government-declared Viability Price for the oil palm year, the shortfall is paid to your bank account by DBT.

Yes. Each mission zone is tied to an identified processing company, and you sign a supply agreement with it before planting. This is what guarantees you a buyer, but it also means you cannot freely sell FFB elsewhere.

NMEO-OP (approved 2021) is specifically for oil palm — a perennial tree crop. NMEO-Oilseeds (approved October 2024, ₹10,103 crore, 2024-25 to 2030-31) covers annual oilseed crops like mustard, groundnut, soybean and sunflower. Both sit under the Krishonnati Yojana umbrella and together aim to raise India’s edible-oil self-sufficiency to about 72% by 2030-31, but each has its own budget and rules.

For general farm-scheme queries, call the Kisan Call Centre on 1800-180-1551 (toll-free). For oil-palm-specific queries, contact the Oil Palm division of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare through the contact page on nmeo.dac.gov.in.

Yes. The mission is operational and administered under the Krishonnati Yojana umbrella since 1 October 2024. The government declared the Viability Price for Fresh Fruit Bunches for Oil Palm Year 2025-26 on 1 January 2026, confirming the price-assurance mechanism is running through the current cycle.