New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) In a rare face-off between two industry groupings, Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) on Monday condemned edible oil industry body SEA’s suggestion to stop soyabean cultivation in 12 million hectares of land.
Responding sharply, Solvent Extractors’ Association termed the allegations as “blatant lies” and an attempt to create fissures in the domestic edible oil industry.
In a statement, SOPA said Mumbai-based SEA had made this suggestion in a virtual meeting of the edible oil industry with the Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal on February 25.
SEA had “described diversion of 12 million hectares of land to soyabean in India as a criminal waste because it has only 18 per cent oil and has low productivity, obliquely suggesting use of this land for sowing other crops,” SOPA said.
SEA President while suggesting that India is not deficient in protein also requested the government to permit import of Genetically Modified (GM) soyameal, it noted.
SOPA Chairman Davish Jain said SEA’s demand is “dangerous, anti-industry, anti-farmer and against country’s interest as it will amount to taking the country away from achieving self-reliance.” “The entire soy industry will be wiped out if soyabean cultivation is stopped and import of GM soyameal is allowed and around 60 lakh farmers will lose a preferred kharif crop, especially in Central India, where there are few alternatives to soybean,” Jain said.
This will not only further increase India’s dependence on imports for edible oils but will also make India dependent on imports for essential protein needs, he added.
In a sharp response to the allegations, SEA said that SOPA was speaking “blatant lies” to its members and creating fissures within the edible oil industry.
“This will not help anyone in the long run and will be counterproductive. I am a little disappointed at the blatantly wrong presentation being done by you (SOPA),” SEA President Atul Chaturvedi said.
Chaturvedi also said that SEA had not spoken against soya cultivation in the country “What I said was 12 million hectares occupied by soya and producing 10 million tonne is not helping either the country or industry and serious efforts need to be made to increase productivity and take it to minimum 1.5 tonnes per hectare,” he added.
Indian farmers take minimum two crops in a year with soyabean as a short duration average 90-95 days maturing variety in kharif and mostly wheat or gram in rabi season. Some farmers also take a third intervening vegetable cultivation in between.
In Latin and North America, only long duration one soyabean crop of generally 135-140 days maturity is sown in a year.
“So in totality, Indian farmers produce equivalent quantities in one year despite the vast difference in available resources vis-a-vis western world,” SOPA said.
Further, it said discouraging cultivation of soyabean will amount to depriving the Indian people of the most economical source of vital protein with natural purity which is so important for human nutrition.
Several members of SOPA and soy processors have also condemned the proposals of SEA, the statement added. PTI LUX RAM
