The central government has given consent to seven agricultural processing clusters costing about Rs 234.68 crore. Union Minister of Food Processing (MoFP) Narendra Singh Tomar presided the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) meeting held via video conferencing, to contemplate the proposals received under the scheme for installation of Agro-Processing Cluster (APC) of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).
The meeting was also attended by the promoters of the projects.
The Ministry informed that the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee has nodded to 7 agricultural processing clusters in Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Meghalaya with a total project expenditure of Rs 234.68 crore. The project also includes about 60.87 crore grant assistance.
As per the statements of MoFP- “These projects are expected to provide employment to about 7,750 individuals. Also, these projects will leverage private investments worth Rs 173.81 crore.”
The statement further stated- “The strategy for construction of infrastructure for agro processing clusters was given consent on 3rd May 2017 under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana in order to motivate the establishment of agro processing clusters”.
It also added- “The vision of this scheme is to set up up-to-date infrastructure so as to motivate the entrepreneurs for establishing food processing units, rooted on cluster approach.”
These clusters will help to alleviate the wastage of surplus agricultural products and will add value to the products of horticulture and agriculture. This will lead to an increment in the income of farmers and will create employment at the local level, the statement informed.