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Enhance New Markets, New Products & New Technologies, Quality & Volume must grow together to make India Agri & Food Products globally competitive said, Smt Anita Praveen,  IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industry, Government of India.

PHDCCI organized Conference on Agri, Food & Cold Chain 2022 with THEME:” Need for Diversification in Agriculture and Role of Food Processing & Cold Chain Industry in Doubling the Farmers Income”

Smt Anita Praveen, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industry,Government of India, shared the government perspective about the agri-food sector. She mentioned that India has moved from deficit to surplus in production, export and demand but now our focus should shift on food processing. By joining hands together food processing industry can reach great heights in the coming future, added  Smt Anita Praveen.

Ministry of Food Processing, Governement of India , is running various scheme for good financial standing of the sector, like , PM Kisan Sampada scheme and PLI which are the major fund allocators in agri-business indutry to make the sector creditworthy.

Government is further coming with some great commitments in this area and welcoming 100 percent FDI in the sector. Now the time has come  to ensure both volume and quality together to make our products globally competitive. And for this we need to increase the volume of activities to invite new market, new products and new technologies,said, Smt Anita Praveen.

Mr. Kunal Gupta, Co- Chair, Food Processing highlighted that India's agricultural sector is at crossroads, facing challenges of stagnation in crop yields, non-remunerative prices, falling crop incomes and tardy responses from public service systems. There are reports of peasant suicides due to non- profitability of farming. The major blooming reasons for the processing industry in India may be attributed to the increasing urbanization, change in lifestyle and food habits, and increasing number of nuclear families with working women. He mentioned that the major challenges faced by the industries may include lack of infrastructure, inadequate focus on food safety and quality standards, lack of product development and innovative research and development in this area which requires progressive work for growth.

Mr. Pradeep Multani, President, PHDCCI, briefed the audience about Agriculture which is the primary source of livelihood for about 58% of India’s population. Gross Value Added by agriculture, forestry, and fishing was estimated at Rs. 19.48 lakh crore (US$ 276.37 billion) in FY20. He talked about the Indian food industry which is poised for huge growth, increasing its contribution to world food trade every year due to its immense potential for value addition, particularly within the food processing industry. Indian food and grocery market is the world’s sixth largest, with retail contributing 70% of the sales. As the 5th largest sector in India, Food Processing contributes about 9.5% to GVA and 13% to employment of manufacturing segment, said, Mr. Multani.

Mr. N K Aggarwal, Chair, Agriculture Committee, PHDCCI, while appreciating the various schemes of the government, such as providing subsidies in fertilizers, deciding minimum support prices (MSPs) for crops (reviewing before every season) and E?Nam procurement benefits, mentioned that yet the farmers in the country are facing severe distress. More focus on farm mechanization, price assurance to further increase production, and assured income in the hands of farmers which in turn may benefit the economy by large. He added that improving agriculture contribution and output could become a growth engine for the Indian economy if the entire ecosystem is thought afresh as traditional systems have had a limited role in doubling farmer income.

Dr. Yogesh Srivastav, Assistant Secretary General, PHDCCI, moderated the session. 

The conference also witnessed well-attended participation both physically and virtually.

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