Importance of Oilseed Crops in Pakistan and future strategies

Oilseeds are important commodity crops for the human diet after cereal and sugar crops in the country. They are a source of vegetable oil which provides 2.5 times more energy than protein and carbohydrates. It has some essential fatty acids and vitamins D and E needed for the human body. Vegetable oil is better for health than ghee from an animal source with zero cholesterol and a higher percentage of mono & poly unsaturated fats.

Currently, 0.754 million ha of the total cropped area in Pakistan is under oilseed crops:
• Sunflower
• Rapeseed – Mustard
• Sesame
• Groundnut
• Linseed
• Safflower

In Pakistan, mainly two types of oilseed crops are grown, i.e., traditional (rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, sesame, and linseed) and non-traditional (sunflower, safflower, soybean). The area under these crops remained almost stagnant with minor fluctuations except for sunflower, rapeseed, mustard (especially canola), and sesame which showed a considerable increase in area, production, and yield per unit area during the last 12 years.

Rapeseed and mustard are important species grown as oilseed crops in Pakistan. These species are rich sources of oil and contain 40-46% good quality oil. In addition, its meal has 38-40% protein with a complete profile of amino acids, including lysine, methionine, and cystine. The oil from canola-quality rapeseed varieties is superior for human consumption, and a meal is an excellent feed for animals and birds, especially poultry. Thus, the development of canola-quality rapeseed will enhance the use of rapeseed oil for edible purposes and meals for animal and poultry feeding.

Sunflower is one of the most important oilseed crops in the world and 3rd most important oilseed crop after cotton, rapeseed, and mustard in Pakistan. Pakistan produced only 18% of the required edible oil locally, while the rest of the edible oil has been imported from other countries. Sunflower oil is best for heart patients as it contains 90% unsaturated fatty acids. Sunflower contains 30% monounsaturated Omega-9 and 59% polyunsaturated Omega-6.

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L) is one of the world’s fifteen leading food crops and is cultivated worldwide. It is a cash crop and has importance in our existing agricultural cropping pattern of rainfed areas. It is drought-tolerant and good for crop rotation in rainfed areas. Because of the leguminous crop fixes atmospheric nitrogen and maintains soil productiveness. Groundnut is an energy-rich crop containing 25 to 30% protein, 5 to 15% carbohydrate, and 50 to 55% oil.

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is one of the important oilseed crops in Pakistan. It is mostly grown in both irrigated as well as rainfed areas. Due to variation in rainfall patterns, the yield is not stabilized, and the farmers cannot get sustained income. However, it is prized for its high-quality oil and its high protein content (22.0%). Its oil content ranges from 50-to 58%. Sesame oil is of drying type as oil of sunflower and maize. The iodine number varies from 100-to 120, showing its better oil quality and shelf life.

Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) is a long-day plant cultivated in 34 countries. It is one of the major agro-industrial oilseed crops. Its seed contains 33-43% oil of drying type and 24% protein. Its oil has high percentages of unsaturated fatty acids, mainly used in paint and varnish industries. Moreover, its oil contains 75% linolenic acid and 17% linoleic acid. In Pakistan, linseed is grown on marginal and sub-marginal lands under irrigated and rainfed conditions of the Punjab and Sindh provinces.

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L) is xerophytic in nature and is bestowed with unique salt and drought tolerance features. In Pakistan, it is grown only in Sindh. Safflower seed contains 25-37% oil. Its oil is a drying type with Iodine number up to 149 and contains little linolenic acid and a high percentage of oleic acid and linoleic acid. Safflower oil is human health friendly and can be blended with other edible oil or used directly for edible purposes.

Constraints to Oilseeds Production
Both major and minor constraints affect the oilseed production in the country. The constraints that directly discourage and deter the farmers from adopting oilseed crops are ineffective marketing, low economic returns, and inadequate support of essential production elements, including credit, quality seed, production technology, and appropriate farm machinery.

• Marketing constraints
In-efficient and inadequate marketing of oilseed crops have been identified as the most important factor hampering promotional and developmental efforts. The farmers are most disheartened when they face problems in selling their produce. A survey conducted in Sindh and Punjab by PARC concluded that the most burning issue in promoting oilseed crops was marketing.

• Policy constraints

The government has been dealing with the oilseed crops as minor crops while the import bill is always touching and every year the menacing level in the country. Therefore, the government should treat the oilseed as a priority crop and pay attention to its promotion.

• Technological

Presently, sufficient funds are not provided for conducting extensive research to exploit the potential of minor oilseed crops like soybean, sesame, safflower, and groundnut.

• Non-availability of quality seeds

The entire sunflower, canola, and mustard hybrid seed are imported into the country. This takes almost months to reach the country, resulting in loss of seed viability and poor germination. Moreover, the cost of imported hybrid seeds is very high and is beyond the buying power of common farmers.

• Machinery

Most of the oilseed crops pose tremendous post-harvest losses. This is because proper machinery is not available and, if available, is beyond the purchasing power of the small farmer.

• Low demand for produce

The government tax policy of importing oilseed produce had a bad effect on the local prices of oilseed produce and hence the farmers. Therefore, there is a strong need to make such measures to create local demand for oilseed crops.

• Lack of credit facilities

No credit facilities are available to the oilseed growers in the country, especially when all the inputs for sunflower in particular and other oilseeds, in general, are going out of reach of the farmers. The present hikes in the rates of inputs have made it imperative to provide easy credit to the oilseed growers.

Future strategies
• Research Priorities
▪ Collection, evaluation, and maintenance of germplasm of oilseed crops.
▪ Development of improved varieties of oilseed crops.
▪ Development of Hybrids of Sunflower and Rapeseed-mustard.
▪ Development of Canola-type mustard varieties.
▪ Production of Hybrid Seed in the country. C
▪ Conducting National Uniform Yield Trials (NUYT) of sunflower, groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, and sesame.
▪ Standardization of package of production technology for oilseed crops.
• Dissemination of production technology
• Proper machinery
• Credit facilities
• Improvement in marketing