Government to Set up/Upgrade Two Lakh Micro Food Processing Enterprises by 2024-25

• Sanctioned projects will benefit about 34 lakh farmers on completion

Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries said that as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Initiative, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is launching a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up or upgrading two lakh Micro Food Processing Enterprises.

These enterprises will be established or upgraded through credit linked subsidy during 5 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crores.  The minister said the Central Scheme-PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME) offers financial, technical & business support for these enterprises.

In addition, the MoFPI has been implementing Central Sector Umbrella Scheme i.e. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) since 2016-17 for the growth as well as development of food processing sector that includes processing of agro- products thereby increasing the income of farmers.

The component schemes of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana are as follows;

• Mega Food Park

• Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure

• Infrastructure for Agro-Processing Clusters

• Creation /Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities

• Creation of Backward & Forward linkages

• Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure

• Human Resource and Institutions

• Operation Greens

Under the component schemes of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, MoFPI offers mostly credit linked financial assistance in the form of grants-in-aid to entrepreneurs for establishing food processing or preservation industries.

Until now, the Ministry has approved 41 Mega food Parks, 353 Cold Chain projects, 292 Food Processing Units, 63 Agro Processing Clusters, 63 Creation of Backward & Forward Linkages Projects and 6 Operation Green projects across India under corresponding component schemes of PMKSY.

These sanctioned projects will benefit as many as 34 lakh farmers once it is completed. In the evaluation study of Integrated Cold Chain & Value Addition Infrastructure Scheme conducted by NABCONS in 2020, it has been projected that captive projects under the scheme have increased the farm-gate prices by 12.38 percent. Moreover, each project is estimated to benefit over 9500 farmers.