FNB News - ASSOCHAM, MoFPI organise Agri and Food Processors’ Conclave in Udaipur

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AGRICULTURE

ASSOCHAM, MoFPI organise Agri and Food Processors’ Conclave in Udaipur

Friday, 13 January, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]

Our Bureau, Mumbai

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industries of India (ASSOCHAM), in collaboration with the ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI), Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology (MPUAT), Udaipur, and Udaipur Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised the Agri and Food Processors’ Conclave: Finance - Technology - Market, at the Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur, recently.

The aim of the one-day conference was to provide aspiring food entrepreneurs, existing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in food, agriculture professionals and students, progressive farmers, self-help groups (SHGs), etc. a platform to share their views and learn about the latest initiatives and opportunities available in the field of agro food industries. Member of Parliament Arjunlal Meena was the chief guest at the event.

He said, “The food processing industry is of enormous significance for the development of Rajasthan, because of the vital linkages and synergies that it promotes between the two pillars of the economy, namely industry and agriculture. The growth potential of this sector is enormous and the consumption of value-added food products will grow at a fast pace.”

“The consumption of processed food has gone up considerably. The youth are fond of processed food. The growth of the food processing industry will bring immense benefits to the economy, raising agricultural yields, meeting productivity, creating employment and raising the standard of a very large number of people the state, especiallyin the rural areas,” Meena added.

He laid emphasis on the need to adoptan integrated approach to facilitate the development of the agriculture and food processing industry in Rajasthan, and mentioned that efforts should be put in to develop a local marketing programme, which will provide remunerative pricestothe producers pf processed products and fair prices to consumers.

US Sharma, vice-chancellor, MPUAT, said, “Rajasthan has immense opportunities in the agro and food processing sector. At present, the state has about 10,000 operational units in the micro- and small-scale sector of food processing. Southern Rajasthan produces between four and six lakh tons of maize during the kharif and rabi seasons.”

“There are good opportunities to establishing maize processing plantswith capacities ranging between 10 metric tons and 200 metric tons per day. With the aim to promote agro-processing industries and agro-marketing related activities in the state, the government of Rajasthan has launched agro-processing and agro-marketing industries in the state,” he added.

Vinit Kumar, deputy general manager, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), discussed various financial schemes funded by the bank to help farmers and rural youths to develop into successful agri entrepreneurs. He stated that processed food enhanced employment opportunities and increased the demand for farm produce.

He added that under the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) initiative, a fund of Rs 2,000 crore had been sanctioned by the government to promote the foodprocessing industry and also to encourage capacity building.LC Jain, director, State Food Processing Mission, Rajasthan, talked about the various schemes of the government of Rajasthan to promote food processing industries in the state.

Chetan Vij, assistant director, ASSOCHAM, spoke about the current trends in finance, technology and marketing in the food processing sector, and the opportunities that exist for young entrepreneurs in sectors such as marketing, quality testing and implementation of new agri technologies to improve production.

VP Rathi, president, Udaipur Chamber of Commerce and Industry,spoke about the state’s potential in generating employment opportunities for youths in the food processing sector, adding that food wastage was a challenge. “We need to focus on this, and the youth should take advantage of the growing opportunities in the food processing sector,” he added.

Presenting the vote of thanks,Anila Doshi, dean, faculty of agriculture, MPUAT, highlighted the importance of the conference for thebudding entrepreneurs who wanted to start new ventures in agriculture.

Other speakers who addressed the conference includedAjay Kumar Gupta, director,Greentech Mega Food Park Ltd; LK Murdia, dean, faculty of dairy and food technology, MPUAT; Panchu Lal Meena, deputy director, horticulture, Vijendra Singh, deputy general manager, NABARD and SS Budrak, director, research, MPUAT.