Union Minister for Food Processing Industry Harsimrat Kaur Badal today said her ministry would facilitate the creation of mini food parks in different areas of Punjab to give a fillip to processing of local produce.
Presiding over a high level meeting here at Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology in Punjab Agriculture University campus here, Badal said Punjab Agro could be nominated as the nodal agency for creation of these mini food parks over an area of 20 to 25 acres each.She said these food parks would complement the mega food park at Laddowal which had already been approved by chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.The minister also advocated creation of Primary Processing centers to take the food processing mission to the village level. She said cooperatives would be encouraged to take advantage of grants up to Rs 2.5 crore each to create modern processing centers for milk, fruits and vegetables.Among other projects she said her ministry would also give grants for creation of modern abattoirs in all the major cities in Punjab. She said these abattoirs would be managed by the municipal corporations. She said to further streamline meat production and maintain hygienic conditions, her ministry would give grants of up to Rs 5 lakh each to inpidual meat shop owners to create the requisite refrigeration facilities. Mrs Badal also told Punjab Agro to create a cold chain. She said the existing cold storages, which numbered 526, could also be upgraded for which subsidy could be provided. She said at present her ministry was providing a facility of Rs five crore for each cold chain project and six per cent interest subvention.
The Union minister also advocated formation of a committee at the State level which could prepare the food map of the State detailing specific areas where food processing could be taken up by following a holistic end to end approach. She also asserted the ministry was contemplating creating a 'Food Grid' to ensure the supply of food products even at the time of crisis and this initiative would curb inflation effectively.
The Union Minister emphasized the need to reduce post harvest losses and wastage of food products to curb inflation. She said as per the fresh data of fresh survey conducted by CIPHET, there was a post harvest loss of Rs. 44000 crore. She said she had already given directions to form a mission to reduce these losses by 50 per cent in the next two years.Describing Food Processing Industry as the need of the hour, Badal said agriculture universities could focus on creation of Regional Food Industry Centers. She said that these centers could facilitate farmers by giving them requisite assistance on their doorsteps. She said that the work was on to evaluate and assess the training needs of farmers and their younger generations and for this purpose Skill Training Hubs would also be formed by the Food Processing Ministry.
Giving in principal approval to create a Center-State loop to give boost to Food Processing Industry in Punjab, Badal asked Dr. U. Venkteshwarlu, Joint Secretary Food Processing Ministry to form this loop. This core group for food processing will comprise of Financial Commissioner Development Agriculture, Secretary Food Processing, Director CIPHET, Vice Chancellors of both Punjab Agriculture University and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. Mrs. Badal also directed Dr. Venkteshwarlu to ensure the regular meetings of this core group so that the state can put on fast-track of food processing industry. The Vice Chancellor of PAU Dr. B.S. Dhillon apprised the Union Minister of the need to increase the marketing avenues of food grains, fruits and vegetables.Prominent amongst those present in the meeting included Mr. Suresh Kumar, Financial Commissioner Development Agriculture, Mr. S.R. Ladhar, Secretary Food Processing, Mr. Gaggandeep Singh Brar, Special Principal Secretary to CM Punjab, Mr. Kahan Singh Pannu, MD Punjab Agro, Dr. R.K. Gupta, Director CIPHET, Dr. B.S. Dhillon, VC PAU, Mr. V K Taneja Vice Chancellor GADVASU and senior scientists of CIPHET.