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MoFPI and the unfinished tasks.....
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Tuesday, 10 January, 2012, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Irum Khan, Mumbai
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Way forward for the 12th Five Year Plan
The ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI) has finalised the proposal for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) and submitted its report to the Planning Commission.
According to industry sources, the Budget which is proposed for food processing for the Twelfth Five Year Plan is somewhere around Rs 15,000 crore. More than half the money of the MoFPI will be spent at the field level and for infrastructure purpose, F&B News was informed.
On several occasions it was projected by the top rung of the ministry that Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) could be a strong element of the 12th Plan proposal, which was finalised under Rakesh Kacker, the new incumbent in the post of secretary, MoFPI. Nonetheless, former secretary Ashok Sinha deserves due credit for having conceptualised the Plan and getting the ball rolling.
Focus on CSS
“For far too long the MoFPI has been operating by way of Central Schemes as opposed to the CSS. The Plan would now focus on the CSS on a mission mode operation at the district, state and central levels. These would be akin to the several mission programmes undertaken under the aegis of the agriculture ministry, for instance, The National Horticulture Mission,” said a source from the ministry on condition of anonymity.
With this the Centre would be lesser burdened and would have more time on hand to look into priority issues, provided it used this time wisely.
“In any case the work load of the ministry has reduced to a great extent after the coming in of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, especially with respect to regulatory affairs, and it is now merely a promotional ministry,” said Dr U Venkateswarlu, joint secretary, MoFPI.
Avoiding past mistakes
For the 12th Plan, the ministry would particularly see that the mistakes done in the 11th Plan are not repeated. The Eleventh Plan, devised on a Budget of Rs 6,000 crore, suffered majorly because of the time gap in the policy changes. New initiatives in the Eleventh Plan Scheme, like the mega Food Park, modernisation of abattoirs and cold chain, took a lot of time to operationalise.
These schemes are proposed to be continued in the Twelfth Five Year Plan as well, which would ensure the continuity in implementation without any delay, sources informed.
Another limitation which was observed in the Eleventh Five Year Plan was the lack of database. It is still the biggest concern for the industry. The performance of an industry cannot be gauged without the appropriate backup of authentic statistical data. Dr Venkateswarlu said, “Getting statistics has been a major issue. Though there was a study conducted by the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology in 2010 but reliable source of information is not present.”
Achievement claims
The MoFPI had earlier informed a parliamentary committee that the initiatives by the ministry over the last four years led to an average growth rate of the sector climbing to 13.5 per cent. The processing levels had gone up from 20 per cent to 26 per cent. The quantum of waste of perishables had gone down from 35 to 30 per cent.
To which the committee reacted: “The committee cannot but, consider these achievements of the ministry with a pinch of salt, as their estimation is based merely on ‘regular discussions’ with stakeholders. Arriving at conclusions on such important matters on the basis of mere discussions throws a lot of light on the sanctity of the data flaunted in support and speaks volumes on the manner of working of the ministry in charge of the ‘sunshine’ sector of the Indian economy. The glaring absence of an information system for compiling data and indices pertaining to the food processing industry sector in the country, in spite of the ministry being in existence for two decades now, also reflects poorly on the planning and management capabilities of the ministry.”
Apart from lack of data, proper mechanism for systematic planning, and delay in execution have also been the concerns of the ministry.
The emphasis of the Eleventh Plan for food processing was on the Vision 2015 which focussed on infrastructure schemes, mega food parks, cold chain and modernisation of abattoirs.
Mega food parks
The ministry, however, has admitted that currently around only two-three mega parks are operational from the already set up 10 parks. Mega food park was the most ambitious scheme of the ministry of food processing industries with a focus on public-private partnership. However, absence of a very large private sector companies and problems of land availability, lack of strong backward linkages led to a delay in the implementation of the scheme.
“Nothing has been found wrong with the concept of clusterisation in the hub and spokes model but the difficulties mentioned above are the reasons of slow implementation of mega food park,” said a source from the ministry. “We can only say that there is not 100% progress. How can I say they are not progressing?” Dr Venkateswarlu chuckled. As we understand the underlying statement that Dr Venkateswarlu intended to make it was more than clear that some intentional and unintentional errors have been committed particularly with this scheme.
Viability
For the coming Plan, along with removing procedural delays the government must make these schemes viable for the smallest of the food processors in the region. The government is likely to expend the schemes and will be trying to remove the impediments in the scheme.
Also, the scheme of cold chain, which has been very popular, is likely to be expended in the Twelfth Five Year Plan. Recently the government has approved 49 cold chain projects with a cost of around Rs 380 crore, Kacker informed F&B News.
Kacker also emphasised on modernisation of abattoirs, because the sub-sectors of meat, poultry and eggs help fulfil the much required gaps in food security. It also adds the value-added benefit in the food chain.
Poor management
For this scheme, out of a sum of Rs 251 crore plus allocated up to the fourth year of the Eleventh Five Year Plan, the ministry has been able to actually spend barely 10 per cent of the sum i.e. Rs 28 crore (approx.). According to the committee, this is totally inexplicable and unacceptable way of planning and management. The modernisation of the existing abattoirs and setting up of a state-of-the-art abattoir is a pressing requirement, if the much-needed improvements in the meat industry sector in India are to be ushered in. Therefore, this scheme should not be starved of funds any further. Not only should funds be provided in sufficient measure during the Twelfth Plan for the purpose but even in the last year of the Eleventh Plan i.e. the ongoing fiscal, the scheme should be provided funds on priority basis at the RE (revised estimates) stage to somewhat make up for the abysmally slow pace of implementation of this scheme in the first four years of the Eleventh Plan.
For the Twelfth Plan, the focus of the ministry should also be in a huge way on reforming laboratory and testing in the country. The MoFPI has a target of setting 50 labs each year. “While, the MoFPI implements the scheme of providing assistance (50% of the cost for plant and equipment) for setting up a laboratory, a national plan for setting up a number of laboratories with appropriate level of facilities related to the existen
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