Shift NMEO-OP 2.0 focus from area to productivity, says analysis

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India's National Mission on Edible Oils, Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) must shift from financial expansion to ensuring every planted hectare becomes productive, argues an analysis in The Hindu Business Line. The first phase built a policy framework for oil palm cultivation, but NMEO-OP 2.0 should prioritise 'irrigation-first' implementation, effective area expansion and outcome-based monitoring. Only plantations with assured water before planting deliver high Fresh Fruit Bunch yields, the article says. An Effective Plantation Index measuring irrigation readiness, survival rates, age-wise productivity and farmer income is proposed to replace simple area-counting as a success metric, without creating extra reporting burden.