Italy recently launched the first “Mega Food Park” in India involving food processing facilities. It is the first Italian-Indian Food Park project launched in the country.
About the Project
- The name of the project is “Mega Food Park”.
- The main aim of the project is to develop an interaction between agriculture and industry.
- Also, the project will focus on the research and development of efficient technologies in the sector.
- It is to be implemented by a Special Purpose Vehicle. The SPV is a registered corporate under the Companies Act.
- It will link agricultural production and markets. This is to be achieved by bringing together processors, farmers and retailers to ensure maximizing value addition, increasing farmers income, minimizing wastage and creating employment opportunities.
Mega Food Park Scheme in India
- The Mega Food Park is a scheme implemented by the Ministry of Food Processing. The main aim of the scheme is to establish direct linkage from farms to processing and consumer markets.
- The main purpose of the scheme is to increase the perishables from 6% to 20%.
- Also, the scheme aims to increase India’s share in global food trade by at least 3%.
- Under the scheme, the Government of India provides Rs 50 crores to each food park.
- The scheme aims to implement around 30 to 35 food processing units.
- It aimed to provide a turnover of Rs 400 to Rs 500 crore and employment generation of at least 30,000 from each food park.
- So far, forty-two Mega Food Parks have been sanctioned in six phases.
- Each Mega Food Park aims to connect at least 25,000 farmers.
SOURCE:THE HINDU , MINT