PM Modi Bats For A Food Processing Revolution With Private Sector Participation, Agri-Startups & Food Processing Industries

Batting hard for ushering in a food processing revolution through public-private partnership in the nation, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi today said that the sector needs to be developed at a faster pace and that it would have been better had it have received attention two to three decades ago, reports Economic Times.

Addressing a webinar on the Union Budget's provisions for the farm sector, PM Modi talked about the nation's increasing foodgrains production and said, "There is a need for post-harvest revolution or food processing revolution and value additions."

PM Modi emphasised that while the public sector has mainly contributed to research and development (R&D) in the farm sector, now the time has come to increase the private sector's participation. He pressed that the sector must be expanded to the global processed food market and said that the nation's farmers must be given alternatives so they do not remain limited to growing wheat and rice.

PM Modi also highlighted sundry initiatives announced for the farm sector in the Union Budget for the upcoming fiscal, which includes the target to increase the agriculture credit from Rs 15 lakh crore in the ongoing financial year to Rs 16.5 lakh crore.

Underscoring that the Government has taken various decisions for the benefit of 12 crore small and marginal farmers, PM Modi exuded that these farmers would become the driving force of the rural economy.