India has a rich heritage of oilseed farming, processing, and edible oils of high nutrition and medicinal value. While leading oilseeds include mustard and groundnut, many local varieties offer special benefits. This sector can provide sustainable livelihoods and healthy food, positioning India as a world leader in healthy edible oils. Advancing this through natural farming can ensure the oils are both healthy and climate-resilient.
Traditional wood-based oil extraction is nutritious. Modifications can improve its efficiency while retaining health benefits. India has a vast reservoir of traditional skills for growing and processing oilseeds.
Unfortunately, this great potential is untapped. Local livelihoods are in crisis, import dependence is rising, and accessing healthy oils is becoming harder.
Local processing initiatives can help. A key benefit is that the valuable by-product—oilcakes—stays in the village. This improves nutrition for farm animals and the economics of cultivation.
A new farmer-producer company in Rajasthan’s Karauli district offers exciting possibilities. It is owned by local women farmers, mainly from Mandarayal and Sapotra blocks. Their rural processing plant near Mandrayal is already gaining early attention.
The initiative grew from SRIJAN organization’s work promoting natural farming among small mustard farmers. The idea of a farmer-owned company emerged to improve sustainable livelihoods. As the work primarily partnered with women, they lead this effort with full community support.
Rooted in natural farming, the company is environmentally protective and climate-resilient. It uses no polluting tech. Sourcing and supplying locally cuts transport costs. The naturally farmed mustard yields healthier oil for people and healthier oilcake for animals.
Farmers supply mustard to their own company. This avoids unfair practices like short-weighing. Any profits will be shared with them. Over 2,000 women are currently shareholders, with numbers growing.
Farmers also benefit from trusted, prompt payment. Market prices often rise after harvest, with traders capturing the profit. In their own company, that profit returns to the farmers.
Farmers keeping mustard for home use can now process it locally at their company. This ensures better quality oil and lets them retain the nutritious oilcake for their animals.
Enthusiasm is high. In Shyampur village, women shareholders at a group meeting said this effort should progress well. In Garhi village, women with very little land also showed strong goodwill.
SRIJAN’s development work, especially water conservation, enabled natural farming here. In Shyampur, new water sources were created and old ones revived. Desilting a large tank provided fertile silt for farms. This transformed daily life and freed women from long hours spent fetching water.
In Garhi, Kenti Devi works courageously to support her family. Her husband is ill from mine work. She cultivates rocky land near her home with diverse crops. With SRIJAN's help, she runs a bio-resource center promoting organic methods.
The strong trust in such villages is a great source of strength for the Dang Vikas initiative. Villagers hope for smaller processing units closer to home in the future, potentially involving skilled traditional kolhu extractors.
At the main processing unit, management committee members Rani, Pooja, and Priyanka spoke of the high hopes women have. With SRIJAN's Bhavani Singh, they discussed new ideas like a cattle feed plant using oilcakes and grading produce for better prices.
Their cooperative spirit was clear. When heavy tables needed moving, the leaders immediately did the work themselves. With this ethos, the well-conceived initiative can show the way forward for farmer-owned processing.
To succeed, it must stay true to core values: farmer welfare, health, and the environment. It must proceed thoughtfully, innovatively, and with a clear vision for the future of food processing.
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The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food and Planet in Peril
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