AGRICULTURE & FOOD SECURITY · 6 MIN READ
India’s edible oil story is no longer just about what goes into our kitchens. It is about farmers, imports, food prices, agricultural resilience and the future of India’s food system. As demand continues to grow, strengthening domestic oilseed production has become increasingly important.
THE BIG PICTURE
Why edible oil matters more than we realise
Every Indian kitchen depends on edible oil, but much of the country’s requirement is still connected to global markets. This means that changes in international prices, weather conditions, shipping costs and geopolitical disruptions can eventually affect something as ordinary as cooking oil.
India already has a strong foundation of oilseed cultivation. Mustard, groundnut, soybean, sunflower, sesame and other oilseeds are grown across different agricultural regions. The challenge is not simply to grow more—it is to create a stronger system around these crops, from better seeds and farm practices to aggregation, processing and market access.
Building domestic oilseed capacity can therefore strengthen both farmers and consumers while making the food supply chain more resilient.
THE NUMBERS
The scale of India’s oilseed challenge
India’s oilseed production has been increasing, but domestic production still needs to expand significantly to meet the country’s growing requirement.
39 million tonnes
Primary oilseed production recorded in 2022–23, forming the baseline for India’s national self-reliance target.
69.7 million tonnes
The production target set for 2030–31 under the National Mission on Edible Oils–Oilseeds.
430.59 lakh tonnes
India’s estimated oilseed production in 2025–26, compared with 396.69 lakh tonnes in 2023–24.
The numbers point to an important reality: India has the agricultural base to strengthen its oilseed economy, but achieving long-term self-reliance will require improvements across the entire value chain.
THE OILSEED OPPORTUNITY
From a commodity crop to a stronger value chain
Oilseeds can create value at several stages beyond cultivation. Better seed varieties can improve productivity. Scientific farm practices can help farmers manage crops more efficiently. Collective aggregation can give farmers stronger access to markets. Local processing can keep more value within rural economies.
This shift matters because farmers should not have to remain disconnected from the stages that follow production.
When oilseeds are aggregated, graded, processed and marketed through organised systems, farmers and FPOs can become more closely connected to the final value chain.
The result is not simply more oil. It is a more integrated agricultural ecosystem.
FROM SEED TO OIL
What a stronger oilseed ecosystem needs
BETTER SEEDS
Improved seed quality and access to suitable varieties can play an important role in increasing productivity and making oilseed cultivation more reliable across different regions.
BETTER FARM PRACTICES
Weather information, soil management, pest surveillance and scientific crop advisory can help farmers make better decisions throughout the growing season.
COLLECTIVE AGGREGATION
Individual farmers often produce relatively small quantities. FPOs can aggregate produce, improve market access and create stronger links between farming communities and organised buyers.
LOCAL PROCESSING
Processing oilseeds closer to production centres can reduce unnecessary movement, create rural employment and allow more value to remain within agricultural communities.
THE POLICY SHIFT
Building domestic capacity
India’s National Mission on Edible Oils–Oilseeds places greater emphasis on increasing oilseed production and strengthening the wider value chain.
The mission aims to increase primary oilseed production substantially by 2030–31, while developing hundreds of value-chain clusters around oilseed-producing regions.
The larger objective is not simply to increase acreage. It is to improve productivity, strengthen processing infrastructure and create better connections between farmers, markets and consumers.
For Indian agriculture, that represents a shift from simply producing a crop to building a complete ecosystem around it.
THE TECHNOLOGY LAYER
When agricultural intelligence reaches the farmer
Technology is becoming another important part of the oilseed story.
Digital advisory platforms can provide farmers with information about weather, crop management, pests and cultivation practices at a time when those decisions matter most.
The introduction of Oilseeds Kisaan Mitra, a multilingual, 24×7 WhatsApp-based AI advisory service, reflects how agricultural knowledge is increasingly becoming accessible through everyday digital tools.
Technology cannot replace farming knowledge or experience. But when timely scientific information reaches the farmer at the right moment, it can become a powerful addition to traditional agricultural decision-making.
THE ROLE OF FPOS
Strengthening the link between farmer and market
An oilseed does not become valuable only when it reaches a processing unit. The strength of the value chain begins much earlier—with the farmer.
Farmer Producer Organizations can bring individual farmers together, helping them aggregate produce, access markets and participate more effectively in organised agricultural value chains.
For oilseeds, this collective approach can be especially important. Instead of farmers operating separately, FPOs can help create a more coordinated journey from cultivation to aggregation, processing and sale.
The stronger the connection between farmer and market, the greater the opportunity to build a transparent and resilient agricultural system.
A SHORTER CHAIN CAN CREATE A STRONGER CONNECTION
The future of edible oil security is not only about producing more oilseeds. It is about creating stronger connections between the farmer who grows them and the family that eventually consumes them.
A resilient food system depends on what happens between those two points.
THE BMS NATURALS CONNECTION
From farmer collectives to the kitchen
BMS Naturals follows a Farm-to-Fork approach that places farmers and agricultural communities closer to the consumer journey.
The model focuses on working with Farmer Producer Organizations and building stronger connections between farming communities, agricultural products and households.
The same principle becomes particularly relevant for oilseeds. A shorter and more transparent chain can create better visibility into where agricultural products originate, how they are processed and how they eventually reach consumers.
At BMS Naturals, direct procurement from farmer collectives and in-house processing of mustard and groundnut oil are part of this approach. The objective is to reduce unnecessary hand-offs while keeping quality, traceability and farmer-market connections closer to the centre of the value chain.
THE ROAD AHEAD
From import dependence to agricultural resilience
India’s edible oil challenge will not be solved by one crop, one technology or one policy.
It will require better seeds, productive farms, stronger FPOs, efficient aggregation, modern processing, reliable market access and technology that reaches farmers in practical ways.
India already has millions of farmers cultivating oilseeds across diverse agricultural regions. The opportunity now is to connect those efforts into a stronger value chain.
Because the future of food security is not only about growing more.
It is about building a system where farmers produce better, value stays closer to the agricultural community, and consumers can understand the journey from seed to kitchen.
