RAJKOT: Blaming the government’s anti-farmer policies that have given rise to farm distress, especially in Saurashtra region , the Saurashtra Oil Mills Association ( SOMA ) has urged the government to impose quantitative restrictions on import of edible oil in order to protect the farmers. Nearly 26 debt-ridden farmers have committed suicide in Saurashtra so far owing primarily to crop failure, it alleged. Saurasthra mainly thrives on cotton and groundnut crop.Quoting Union agriculture ministry’s annual statistics, SOMA said on an average India’s annual edible oil consumption is around 230 lakh tonne. Against this, country’s domestic production stands at 110 lakh tonne. Further it said that India imported 145 lakh tonne of edible oil in 2018. In a letter to the Union commerce and industry minister, Suresh Prabhu, the association acknowledged that the country is not self-sufficient in production of edible oil which makes import necessary to plug the gap between demand and supply. “But impose quantitative restriction on import of edible oil, limiting it to meet the requirement only and not surplus, in order to protect domestic oil-seed crop production,” it said.Arguing that huge import of edible oil creates a disparity in the market and hits farmers, it said India imports 65 per cent of its oil requirements. SOMA wants imposition of restrictions on edible oil import in the same manner government had imposed on the import of pulses in 2017-18. “Because of the government’s policy on groundnut, many crushing units in Saurashtra were compelled to shut down,” said the organization, demanding incentives on export of peanuts and oil cake.

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