Edible oil is an essential basic food product used in daily cooking and food preparation. It is also closely linked to food security for the people and the economic stability of the country. Therefore, it is important to ensure that domestic demand for edible oil can be adequately met through domestic production.
As Myanmar is an agriculture-based country, it has considerable potential to select and cultivate oilseed crops suitable for local soil and climatic conditions in different regions. Domestic edible oil production can be increased by cultivating groundnut, sesame, sunflower and other oilseed crops using appropriate cultivation methods. In this regard, it is essential to ensure the production of high-quality oilseed crops with high yields.
Oilseed crops such as groundnut, sesame, sunflower, canola, Niger and so on are planted on more than 3.34 million hectares of croplands across the country. On average, these oilseed crops produce 3.23 million metric tonnes of edible oil per year. In oilseed cultivation, efforts should be made to select and use quality seeds, choose suitable farmland, systematically apply fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation water according to soil conditions, and adopt modern cultivation methods. In addition, systematic post-harvest handling is essential to maintain the quality of oilseed crops, including proper storage, transport and oil extraction processes.
If the yield of oilseed crops improves, it will not only ensure sufficient domestic edible oil consumption but also increase the income of oilseed farmers and reduce dependence on imported edible oil. This, in turn, will help reduce foreign exchange expenditure and contribute to the development of domestic production and agriculture-based businesses.
Edible oil sufficiency is essential not only for people’s daily food consumption but also for the country’s economy and food security. Therefore, relevant departments, under the guidance and direction of the government, are working together with farmers to make effective use of existing agricultural land and expand the cultivation of oilseed crops suited to local conditions, with the aim of producing high-quality crops with good yields.
Therefore, if oilseed crops such as groundnut, sesame, sunflower, soybean and oil palm are systematically expanded in accordance with regional conditions to achieve the highest possible yields, domestically produced edible oil can be fully utilized within the country, thereby improving domestic edible oil sufficiency. Therefore, farmers, agricultural experts, producers and all responsible personnel from relevant sectors should work together and cooperate in expanding the cultivation of oilseed crops.
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