Agro-Processing Clusters and Mega Food Parks will flourish the farmer’s income

New Delhi, March 17: Agricultural reforms will boost farmer’s income in India. New Farm laws definitely increase the confidence in Agricultural society. Agro-processing could be defined as a set of techno-economic activities carried out for conservation and handling of agricultural produce and to make it usable as food, feed, fiber, fuel, or industrial raw material.

Inadequate attention to the agro-processing sector in the past put both the producer and the consumer at a disadvantage and it also hurt the economy of the Country.

Under the Scheme, processing/preservation infrastructure like cold storage, pre-cooling chambers, ripening chambers, IQF, specialized packaging, Food testing laboratory, cleaning/ grading/sorting and packing facilities, steam generation boilers, warehouses, etc. are being created as part of cluster approach for use of food processing units to be/being set up under these projects.

Further, MoFPI has been implementing a separate scheme for the development of Mega Food Parks (MFPs). So far, MoFPI has sanctioned 37 MFPs and given in-principle approval for 2 MFPs in the country.

In Bihar, MoFPI has approved one project in the Begusarai district of Bihar under the APC scheme and one project in the Khagadia district of Bihar under MFP scheme. However, no agro-processing cluster or mega food park project has been approved by this Ministry in West Champaran and Aurangabad districts of Bihar.

PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana

PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana is a comprehensive package that will result in the creation of modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet. It will not only provide a big boost to the growth of the food processing sector in the country but also help in providing better returns to farmers and is a big step towards doubling farmer's income, creating huge employment opportunities especially in the rural areas, reducing wastage of agricultural produce.