VTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Directorate of Agriculture is revising the scheme for the promotion of value-added projects of fruits, vegetables and spices in the state as per the proposal submitted by the Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC).
The main objectives of the scheme are promotion of value addition of agricultural produce of the state and agro-industrialisation.
It also aims at diversification of agricultural produce, commercialisation of value products, enabling small and marginal farmers to obtain better price for their produce and generating employment opportunities, especially in the rural section.
Reducing agricultural imports, providing crucial farm industry linkage which helps economic progress, better inflow of credit to the farm sector, avoiding wastage of agricultural produce and ensuring its optimum utilisation, improvement of socio-economic status and encouraging more entrepreneurs in value addition of agricultural related produce are also the objectives of the process.
The Director of Agriculture had transferred Rs 425 lakh to the account of the Managing Director, Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium during the year 2012-13 for the implementation of new value addition projects initiated by the SFAC. The working group of the Agriculture Department which met in June this year approved the proposal subject to the condition that subsidy will be limited to the present rate of 25 per cent.