Odisha's rice fallows as oilseed belts

Mahesh Pradhan, a smallholder, tried something simple. On the land left idle after the Kharif rice harvest, he sowed mustard.

- SHATADRU CHATTOPADHAYAY

That one decision added about ₹45,000 to his seasonal income. One farmer's outcome is not a trend, but it signals a practical route to scale. Odisha’s 11.7 lakh hectares of suitable rice fallows represent the state’s most immediate, lowest-cost acreage for oilseeds, and a fertile ground to launch an Edible Oil Mission.

India produces around 44% of the edible oil it consumes, roughly 56% is imported. Price shocks in wartime and periodic export curbs have shown how global tremors become retail pain. By 2030, this demand-supply gap could reach 141 lakh tonnes. Traditional oilseed belts in western India have limited room to expand. Eastern states must carry the load, and Odisha has the ingredients: 10 agro-climatic zones, the country’s fifth-largest rice output (abundant fallows), rising cotton production for cottonseed oil, and proximity to ports and consumption hubs.

The “Seeds for Change” report by Solidaridad Asia suggests policy should sequence growth on two tracks.