Patanjali takes on Mizoram’s oil palm crisis: But at what cost?

If you search for “Oil Palm Cultivation” and “Mizoram” together, at least five detailed news reports and research-based articles highlight how oil palm cultivation has failed in Mizoram, causing disastrous outcomes for farmers. However, just this month, on January 23, 2025, information announcing an agreement between the Chief Minister of Mizoram, Lalduhoma, and Patanjali for the establishment of an oil palm mill in the state was shared by officials. 

The website of the Agriculture Department in Mizoram dedicates a page to oil palm cultivation in Mizoram that suggests the state being ideal for oil palm cultivation. Some of these reasons were, the threat to a crisis in ecological balance due to rapid increase of land degradation due to jhumming, deforestation etc., It further states that “the crop stands ideal having capability to repair degraded land, provide ecological balance and providing a secure and more lucrative income source for the “poor farmers,” and that the state offers an ideal climate and rainfall. 

On December 2, 2004, the Mizoram Legislative Assembly passed The Mizoram Oil Palm (Regulation of Production & Processing) Act, 2004 for implementing Oil Palm cultivation in PPP mode and cultivation of Oil Palm in Mizoram was started in 2005. As of July 2021, three Companies: Godrej Agrovet Pvt.Ltd.,  3F Oil Palm Agrotech Pvt. Ltd. and Ruchi Soya Indutries  Ltd were selected for Partner Companies. 

An in-depth report by Caravan Magazine on the impact of oil palm plantations on farmers in Mizoram found that the state’s experiment with oil palm was a failure for both farmers and companies. With oil palm being an incredibly nutrient and water intensive crop, it left fields and the surrounding forests infertile.

The report found that many farmers made absolutely no profit in the decade and a half since the crop was first planted, most often because companies that were legally required to buy their produce did not, often because of poor road access. The farmers also accused the companies of failing to pay the compensation stipulated by Mizoram’s laws. 

The timeline of the introduction of the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm by the Modi-led government, can be closely connected with Ram Kisan Yadav popularly known as Baba Ramdev, owner of  Patanjali, a multinational consumer packaged goods company vocal advocate of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. 

On 2 August, 2021, Ramdev, in an interview with PTI, said, “We plan to set up palm oil plantations in the North East. We have completed our survey there. We have plans for Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur among others.” And just 13 days after he made the statement, Modi made his announcement about increasing oil palm cultivation in the Northeast. 

From Patanjali, two senior officials, Ashok Kumar Singh, Chief General Manager & Head, Oil Palm Operations North East and Tapas Kumar Tripathy, Dy GM, Plantation and Nursery, Patanjali Foods Limited met Chief Minister Lalduhoma on January 23, where they said the mill will be set up at Liapha in south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district and that the project will be completed in a year.

The representatives of the company also told the CM that oil palm will be procured from farmers in Serchhip, Lunglei, Lawngtlai and Siaha districts.

Patanjali had first made its foray into Mizoram through Ruchi Soya, partner companies of the Mizoram government and had signed an MoU on 2006 and 2009 for Lunglei and Lawngtlai districts. In 2019, Ruchi Soya had declared bankruptcy, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy code and that same year, Patanjali had acquired Ruchi Soya.

In March 2023, the then Governor of Mizoram, Hari Kambhampati had held a meeting with the officials of Godrej Agrovet Ltd leh Patanjali Foods Limited. Here the Patanjali representatives had also revealed that they would be signing an agreement to set up an oil palm mill in Lawngtlai District on the next day.

Patanjali, which was founded in 2006 by Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, has consistently made headlines for the wrong reasons. According to a report by the Hindu in November 2013, Ramdev has had 81 cases registered against him for violation of land laws. As per an NDTV report, there were over 33 complaints between April 2015 and July 2016 for misleading advertisements and the violation of ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) standards.

In 2017, an Economic Times report revealed that a test by the Central Food Lab led the Canteen Stores Department of the India’s Defence Forces to suspend sales of Patanjali’s Amla juice, deeming it unfit for consumption. That same year, Nepal’s Department of Drug Administration issued a notice declaring six Ayurvedic products by Divya Pharmacy in Uttarakhand substandard and contaminated with pathogenic bacteria.

Also in 2017, reports surfaced about the working conditions at Patanjali’s factories, where employees were allegedly expected to abandon their posts and queue up to touch the feet of Ramdev or his business partner, Balkrishna, when they entered the premises.

In 2021, Baba Ramdev faced a defamation notice from the Indian Medical Association’s Uttarakhand division after he called allopathic medicine “stupid” and questioned its efficacy. The IMA demanded a public apology or a ₹1,000 crore claim.

Patanjali has also been embroiled in controversies over some of its products. Among the most notable were “Divya Putrajeevak Seed,” marketed as a remedy for infertility, which implied it could guarantee the birth of a male child, and “Coronil,” claimed to be an Ayurvedic COVID-19 cure with 100% positive results in clinical trials, despite lacking scientific evidence or approval.

In 2022, following a complaint by Dr. KV Babu, a Kerala ophthalmologist, the Ministry of AYUSH directed several states to take action against Patanjali for unlawfully advertising products claiming to cure diabetes, heart disease, and liver disorders. The ads were found to violate the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

That same year, Newslaundry reported that Patanjali allegedly took control of Dalit-owned lands in Haridwar, using it to establish herb farms and cow shelters, despite being ineligible to purchase the land legally.

Despite the controversies and accusations, Baba Ramdev has maintained strong ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A Reuters report revealed that since Modi came to power, Ramdev’s company, Patanjali, received an estimated $46 million in discounts on land acquisitions in BJP-controlled states.

The investigation, based on state government documents, official interviews, and real estate estimates, also found that Patanjali gained access to additional land free of charge. Furthermore, the company has benefited from official endorsement, with support from BJP leaders.

With the entire nation aware of Patanjali’s controversial history and the negative impact of oil palm plantations on farmers in Mizoram, environmentalists have expressed alarm at the news of the Mizoram government partnering with Patanjali.

David Khiangte, an environmentalist from the state, told EastMojo that he learned from a report that the Mizoram government and Patanjali Foods Ltd. had signed an agreement to set up a large oil palm mill in Lawngtlai district. “This is alarming news for our environment and farmers. I believe this deal will be detrimental to both our environment and climate,” he said.

He explained how palm oil plantations necessitate extensive deforestation and said it is a practice incompatible with Mizoram’s limited agricultural land, “Our hilly terrain lacks suitable flat areas for large-scale agriculture, making it unsustainable. We must prioritize soil erosion, forest conservation, and climate change mitigation.”

Khiangte believes large-scale plantations will devastate the state’s  forests and cause more environmental damage than in other states with flatter agricultural land stressing that Mizoram’s fragile ecosystem is ill-suited for intensive agriculture with the state frequently facing natural disasters like landslides. He fears that widespread deforestation will exacerbate these risks.

Sharing his first-hand experience, the environmentalist said, “As a traveller across Mizoram, I have witnessed first-hand how many farmers have been impoverished by poorly planned government-sponsored plantations. The government often receives funds from central sources or organizations for projects like Phisic nut (Kangdamdawi) and ginger cultivation, but fails to provide adequate support to farmers. These projects often exist merely in name, leaving farmers to bear the losses of land, energy, and money. Also, this has led to the destruction of valuable forest land for these often-unviable crops.”

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