Food processing to be fulcrum of Operation Green

The much-touted 'Operation Green' plan announced in the Union Budget  will give  a greater push to processing of popular vegetables tomato, onion and potato.

Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Tuesday said her ministry was exploring proposals to compress supply chains and set up appropriate infrastructure to naturally preserve tomatoes, onions and potatoes by involving farmer producer organisations.

Badal said she had called a meeting of various stakeholders on Tuesday next to deliberate on a sustained road map to ensure that these three vegetables were available to consumers all through the year without much volatility in prices.

The past year saw farmers dumping potatoes, tomatoes and onions on the road following a glut in production and crash in wholesale prices. The new initiative, expected in April, is likely to address this problem.

Farmer distress

In recent years, fluctuation in onion price has distressed   farmers and middle class consumers. Potato farmers in Agra and other places in Uttar Pradesh have laid to waste their entire crop on highways after a price crash.

In a bid to promote food processing sector, the government also announced setting up of a specialised agro-processing financing institution to ensure that entrepreneurs do not face difficulties in accessing credit.

"Banks consider food-processing a risky business and are hesitant to extend loans to agro-entrepreneurs; the new institution will ensure timely access to affordable credit to this sector," she said.

FDI boom

The minister said she expected foreign direct investment in the food processing sector to increase to USD one billion this year. The recent World Food India event had witnessed investment proposals to the tune of 14 billion dollars  from international food processing players.

"As many as 17 companies with commitment totalling four billion dollars have begun ground work on turning their investments into reality," Badal said.