“The focus is to ensure wholesome development of the North-East Region and to link farmers with modern technology driven agricultural practices and also to accelerate the pace of developmental projects in this region”, Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said.
India is among the top producer of fruits and vegetables but nearly 40 per cent of them go waste due lack of food processing facility, cold storage and poor logistics.
Food processing industries would not only reduce the wastage totaling Rs 40,000 crore annually but also push employment and exports in the north east region.
The North Eastern Region holds lot of potential for food processing as the weather and adequate availability of water are conducive to food cultivation and suitable for growing large variety of fruits and vegetables.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries is pursuing development of North East through its schemes of Mega Food Park, Cold Chain, Abattoir and development of Food Testing Laboratories, she said.
She said three Mega Food Parks, five Cold Chain projects, eight Abattoir projects and six Food Testing Labs have been sanctioned.
The FPI Ministry has taken up the issue of allowing 100% FDI in Multi Brand Retail for such food which is produced by the Indian farmers and food products that are manufactured in India, she said.
“Consultations with the stakeholders are being done on this issue. This would be a revolutionary step towards modernization of old kirana into modern food retail and providing fair remuneration to farmers”, she said.
Badal urged entrepreneurs to set up food processing industries in the North-East. This will usher a new era of higher income to farmers, employment generation to the youth and help in creating necessary infrastructure in the region.
Source: PIB