Stressing on a need to check wastage in agriculture sector, which is estimated at over Rs 44,000 crore and also aids in curbing inflation, Union Minister for Food Processing Industry Harsimrat Kaur Badal today said that her main aim is that processed products should not be limited to elite sections only but should be in the reach of the "Aam Aadmi" as well. She said that wastage can be reduced primarily if the farmers take advantage of Food Processing industry. "Food processed is food saved," she said.
Taking an aim at the UPA government, Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that during their rule, they emptied the coffers of the exchequer, and even failed to pay subsidy to farmers who were eligible for it since the year 2003. "Our main aim is that all such farmers should be given subsidy on priority basis. Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi is having a very empathetic approach towards farmers and that is why, he has set up a separate Ministry of Food Processing Industry," Badal said. She also lauded the "Make In India" campaign launched by Mr Modi yesterday.
Badal was addressing the participants during a one–day national seminar on “Augmenting Processing and Shelf-Life of Perishable Food Products” held at Pal Auditorium, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), here today. This seminar was being organised by the National Productivity Council (NPC), New Delhi.She informed that Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology (IICPT) would be opening two centres in Bathinda and Ludhiana. "PAU has given land for the setting up of Bathinda and Ludhiana centres and once they start functioning, Punjab would be benefitted in a big way as all kinds of crops would be processed here," she said.
While addressing the participants, Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that her ministry would concentrate on creating primary collection centres close to the food production areas to bring in efficiency in food processing and reduce wastages. She said that according to a study conducted by Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) in 2010, 18 per cent of the total produce gets wasted and to achieve efficiencies, her ministry would create an enabling environment including creating refrigeration facilities at all levels.While speaking to media persons, she said that food wastage plays a very important role in inflation. She said that it is due of wastage that the market availability declines and it directly leads to inflation. "So if we control wastage by taking help of food processing industry, we can control inflation," she stressed. "I am going to Ahmadabad tomorrow where we would study the model adopted by Amul," she said.The union minister said that farmers can themselves set up small food processing units to process their own produce at their home itself. "My aim is that we come up with such a scheme where a farmer and his family, especially youth, would be involved in all stages, right from sowing to processing to marketing of a particular product. And we are already working on it so that our farmer can become self reliant," she said.
She said that a Mega Food Park is coming up at Fazilka and it would be inaugurated in October. She said that one such park is also coming up near Ludhiana very soon.She even urged the farmers to adopt organic farming as well as processing fruits and vegetable into non-alcoholic wines. She asked PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon to hold a monthly meeting where he should brief her about the ways in which farmers can be benefitted from food processing.Prominent among those present on the occasion included Mr Harbhajan Singh, Director General, NPC, Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, Dr V K Taneja, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, and several other senior officers from Ministry of Food Processing Industries.