Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : The first Mega Food Park in the state of Maharashtra, M/s Satara Mega Food Park Pvt. Ltd. at Village Degaon, District Satara, was inaugurated on March 1, 2018, by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister of Food Processing Industries (FPI) in the presence of Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister, Maharashtra.
This is the 12th Mega Food Park operationalized in the country so far and the 10th operationalized during the tenure of present government.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that under the visionary guidance of PM NarendraModi, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is focusing on boosting the food processing industry so that agriculture sector grows exponentially and becomes a major contributor to doubling the farmer’s income and ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government, according to a PIB release.
To give a major fillip to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage at each stage of the supply chain with particular focus on perishables, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing Mega Food Park Scheme in the country, she said.
Mega Food Parks create modern infrastructure facilities for food processing along with the value chain from farm to market with strong forward and backward linkages through a cluster based approach.
The Minister informed that the Mega Food Park will leverage an additional investment of about Rs 250 crore in 25-30 food processing units in the park and would eventually lead to a turnover of about Rs 450-500 crore annually. The Park will also provide direct and indirect employment to 5,000 persons and benefit about 25,000 farmers. She thanked the Maharashtra Chief Minister and the State Government for the support extended by them in setting up the Mega Food Park.
The Chief Minister of Maharashtra assured that this food park will be one of the best food processing industries in the country. Food Parks is need of the hour to make the agriculture sustainable, he added.