Stressing on the need for a food processing policy in the state of Telangana, industries minister KT Rama Rao said “there are abundant investment opportunities in Telangana as the state registered high numbers in agriculture production. The policies will help bolster rural economy and increase employment opportunities”.
While presenting the draft food processing and logistics policies to the cabinet ministers, KTR said that the completion of irrigation projects and other measures introduced by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has helped increase the crop production.
“Construction of new irrigation projects has resulted in increased cultivation area in the state, subsequently increasing production of crops. The completed projects like Kaleshwaram will help further increase agricultural production. There is a need to increase food processing capacity in the state,” he minister added.
Also he said that by promoting the food processing sector, farmers in the state would grow economically which would also create employment opportunities for the youth. There would be special incentives for SC, ST, minorities and women at the food processing units, the minister said. KTR said that the necessary subsidies and incentives to develop the food processing industry in Telangana have been proposed. The incentives given in this sector in other states and countries have also been referred.
He said the state was experiencing a water revolution and was in the process of witnessing another green revolution (agriculture), followed by the blue revolution (fisheries), the pink revolution (meat production) and the white revolution (milk).
The minister highlighted that the crops being cultivated in every village, mandal and district are being mapped across the state for comprehensive information on agricultural operations. KTR took inputs from the cabinet ministers and stated that their suggestions would be taken into consideration while drafting the guidelines.