Giving a big push to the infrastructure development for food processing in the state of Kerala, foundation stone of 2 Mega Food Parks one being developed by Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) at Palakkad and other by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) at Alappuzha has been laid today i.e 11th June, 2017 in two separate ceremonies held at Palakkad and Alappuzha.Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister of Food Processing Industries in the presence of Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala laid the foundation stone for the Mega Food Park at Palakkad. While the foundation stone for Mega Food Park at Alappuzha was laid by Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala. On both the occasions Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Shri A. C. Moideen, Minister of Industries, Sports & Youth Affairs, Government of Kerala were present and Shri P. Thilothaman, Minister for Food & Civil Supplies, Government of Kerala was also present at the ceremony held at Alappuzha.
Speaking on the occasion Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that under the Visionary guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is focusing on boosting the food processing industry so that agriculture sector grows exponentially and become a major contributor to doubling the farmer’s income and ‘Make In India’ initiative of the government. To give a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage at each stage of the supply chain with particular focus on perishables, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing Mega Food Park Scheme in the country. Mega Food Parks create modern infrastructure facilities for food processing along the value chain from farm to market with strong forward and backward linkages through a cluster based approach. Common facilities and enabling infrastructure is created at Central Processing Centre and facilities for primary processing and storage is created near the farm in the form of Primary Processing Centers (PPCs) and Collection Centers (CCs).Under the Scheme, Government of India provides financial assistance upto Rs. 50.00 Crore per Mega Food Park project.
Minister of Food Processing and Industries while laying the foundation stone of Mega Food Park of M/s Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) at Palakkad informed that the Mega Food Park is being set up in 78.68 acre of land at the cost of Rs. 119.02 crore. The facilities being created by the KINFRA at Central Processing Centre (CPC) of this Mega Food Park include Pack house (Sorting grading packing) of 10 MT/hr, Warehouse of 12000 MT, Silos of 6000 MT, Multi Product Cold Storage of 5000 MT, Spices & Condiments Processing including Mechanical Dryer of 15 T/day, Ripening Chamber of 120 MT, Cashew Roasting of 2MT/day and other food processing facilities. In addition 4 PPCs at Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram and Wayanad having facilities for primary processing and storage near the farms are also being set up. Mega Food Park at Alappuzha is being set up in 68.18 acre of land at the cost of Rs. 129.15 crore. The facilities being created by the KSIDC at Central Processing Centre (CPC) of this Mega Food Park include Cold Storage of 3000 MT, Deep Freeze Unit of 3000 MT, Deboning and Canning Unit of 50 tonnes/day, Warehouse of 1000 MT and other food processing facilities. 5 PPCs at Thoppumpady, Vypeen, Munambam, Aroor and Neendakara having facilities for primary processing and storage near the farms are also being set up.
Minister of Food Processing and Industries also informed that both the Parks also have common administrative building for office and other use by the entrepreneurs. Government of India is providing financial assistance of Rs. 50.00 Crore to each of the projects. Minister for Food Processing Industries said that the modern infrastructure for food processing created at the Mega Food Parks will benefit the farmers, growers, processors and consumers of Kerala and prove to be a big boost to the growth of the food processing sector in the state of Kerala. The Mega Food Park will benefit not only the people of Palakkad and Alappuzha but also the people of their adjoining districts of Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kochi and Kollam. Smt. Badal further said that each of the Mega Food Parks will leverage an additional investment of about Rs. 250 crore in 25-30 food processing units in the park and generate a turnover of about Rs. 450-500 Crore annually.
Each of the Parks will also provide direct and indirect employment to 5000 people and benefit about 25000 farmers in the CPC and PPC catchment areas. Smt. Badal also said that the present government is fully committed to providing an environment that is smooth, transparent and easy for investors wanting to start an enterprise in India and in a bid to make India a resilient food economy and Food Factory of the World. The government has made Food Processing a major thrust area of ‘Make in India’ initiative. Minister of Food Processing Industries also highlighted the newly approved SAMPADA Scheme of the ministry and exhorted the farmers / Farmer Producer Organizations / SHGs and entrepreneurs to take advantage of the scheme for fuelling growth of food processing sector in Kerala. Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal thanked Chief Minister and the State Government for the support extended by them to the Mega Food Parks.