Karnataka eyeing 25% growth in agribusiness by 2025: Deshpande

Karnataka is aiming at a 25% growth in agribusiness and agro-processing by 2025 with the state government rolling out an agribusiness and food processing policy, Large and Medium Industries Minister R V Deshpande said on Friday.

Addressing investors at World Food India 2017 here, he said policies such as the Karnataka Grape Processing and Wine Policy 2007, the Karnataka State Policy on Organic Farming 2004, the Karnataka State Infrastructure Policy 2007, the Karnataka Industrial Policy 2014-19 and the Karnataka Start-up Policy provided incentives and promoted the agriculture sector in the state.

The state has eight food parks in Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga, Vijayapura, Haveri, Kolar, Chitradurga, Kalaburagi and Bagalkot. A seafood park at Mangaluru is in conceptualisation stage. Food technology parks have been planned at Koppal, Kalaburagi and Bidar for the development of rice, maize, tur and coconut. There are 20 agribusiness and food processing clusters such as jaggery, rice mill, silk reeling, wool, agricultural implements and cashew, he added.

Two major cold stores have opened at the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) at Hubballi and Bagalkot for the export of mango and other horticultural products.

A truck terminal-cum-logistics park will be built on 56 acres of land at Anchatageri on the outskirts of Hubballi. Cold storage and other facilities will be developed at the truck terminal on a PPP basis, he said.

Karnataka attracted Rs 33,800 crore worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) over the past year, which makes it the 2nd in terms of attracting FDI in the country. The state attracted Rs 1.37-lakh crore FDI from April 2000 to June 2017, Deshpande said.