VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said Rs10,000 crore will be spent in the coming months for setting up warehouses at the RBKs, Janata Bazaars and food processing units. Reviewing the proposed food processing clusters in the State on Monday, the CM said the main objective of all these efforts is to ensure a stable income for the farmers.
In view of the large-scale investment on food processing units, he emphasised the need for the units to be operated in a professional manner. “Before setting up food processing units, needs of the farmers should be taken into consideration and agreements should be signed with reputed institutes,” he said. Officials said they will enter into agreements with reputed firms for marketing the processed products.
They explained about proposed food processing plants for maize, millets, pulses, horticulture crops like banana, tomato, mango, sweet lime, chillies and turmeric. They said the proposed processing units are estimated to cost Rs2,900 crore and they would be set up in each parliamentary constituency in the State.
Jagan said the ultimate objective of the entire exercise is to ensure remunerative prices for the agriculture produce, benefiting the farmers.
“We should be in a position to promise the procurement price before the crop is cultivated,” he said and stressed on the need for value addition to the farm produce. The Chief Minister asked the officials to come out with an action plan for continuous supply of raw materials for the food processing units and marketing the end product. The processing plants should have sufficient capacity to process the agriculture produce in that region, he said.
Jagan asked the officials to set up a separate wing for food processing, packaging and related aspects. When the officials pointed out the need for a mega food processing plant, he asked them to initiate necessary steps in that direction.