Central Minister for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday emphasised the need to boost private sector investment in the agricultural sector and asked entrepreneurs to set up food processing units.
The Minister addressed a summit on ‘Agriculture and Food Processing Opportunities in Madhya Pradesh’ organised by the Ministry of Food Processing in collaboration with The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Invest India via a video conference, an official statement mentioned.
Tomar, who is also Minister of Food Processing Industries, encouraged budding entrepreneurs to set up food processing units in the country and assured them that the government would provide all possible assistance.
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He briefed that the government is giving quick approvals to food processing ventures. ‘The Union Minister also stressed the need to bring private sector investment and state-of-the-art technology to Farming and Food sector,’ the statement stated. Tomar said that the government is making constant efforts to increase the income of small and marinal farmers.
According to the Minister, 86% of the farming community in the country are small farmers, the self-sufficiency of the villages and the growth of farming sector cannot be envisioned without their empowerment.
Further Shri Tomar added that the central government is making efforts so that small and medium-sized farmers can also grow expensive crops and benefit from agro-technology to produce global quality standards crops. Under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package, ₹ 1 lakh crore has been allocated to agricultural infrastructure that will help to bring infrastructure such as cold storage, processing units and warehouses to villages.
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He also mentioned that the central government is going to set up 10,000 new farmer producer organisations (FPOs) in the country with an estimated expenditure of ₹ 6,865 crore.
By joining FPOs, Farmers can be benefited from reduced costs, a good market and an integrated irrigation facility.
A 3% discount on interest on loans will be granted to FPOs.
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