Shri Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister of food Processing
Industry laid the foundation stone for First Maize based Mega Food Park in
Kapurthala, Punjab today. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister of State for Food
Processing was also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion Shri Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that
Maize is an amazing cereal and is an alternate to Jhona (paddy) and Kanak
(wheat). Maize is rich in protein, provides nutritional requirements that India
needs and Maize consumes much lesser water and could contain the problem of
further water depletion. The Mega Food Park is being developed by Sukhjit Mega
Food park & Infra Limited at village Rehana Jattan, Phagwara, District
Kapurthala, Punjab. She also said that Kapurthala has been declared as a Dark
Zone district where slow desertification is happening because of
overexploitation of water due to cash crops. So establishment of this Mega Food
Park was not allowed. Since this would be a maize based Mega Food Park which
will promote crop diversification and water conservation, Smt Harsimrat Kaur
Badal informed that her ministry made special efforts to get this Mega Food
Park approved from Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation. Establishment of this Mega Food Park will result in the
development of this Dark Zone which includes Job opportunities, Environmental
Conservation, she added.
Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal also said that there is an urgent
need to turn to Maize and our government would relentlessly work to make Maize
as the third viable staple crop of Punjab after Wheat and Rice and growing of
maize with enhanced quality of seeds. A Maize based Food Park is like putting
an engine to the cart so that cultivation of maize grows leaps and bounds.
Highlighting the new flagship scheme “KISAN SAMPADA YOJANA”, Minister of Food
Processing Industries said that with the aim of making every farmer a Food
Processor also, this scheme has been designed where farmers can also set up big
or small Food Processing units and marketing units. She also said that
enterprises willing to set up maize based food processing units in Sukhjit Mega
Food Park would get loan from NABARD at affordable rates. She also thanked the
state government for extending support for the establishment of the Mega Food
Park.
Background:
Maize Based Mega Food Park is the first major and serious
step in the history of India for containing the desertification problem of
Punjab and would make farmers turn to maize cultivation which need less water
for more production. Maize is being used by different industries for seed,
starch, brewery, food additives, sweeteners etc and it is also a basic raw
material to thousands of industrial products like oil, proteins,
Pharmaceutical, cosmetics, beverages, film, textile, gum, value added foods,
paper industries, bio-ethanol etc.
The Mega Food Park will leverage an additional investment of
about Rs.250 crores in 25-30 food processing units in the park and generate
turnover of Rs.450-500 crores annually. The Park will provide direct and
indirect employment to 5,000 persons and benefit about 25,000 farmers.
Set up in an area of 55 acres, the first Maize based Park is
being built with an investment of Rs. 123.7 crores with a grant of Rs.50 crores
by Union Food Processing Industries Ministry to have Multipurpose Cold Storage
of 3, 000 Metric tonnes, Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) and Deep Freezer 1
Metric Tonne/Hour capacity, Sorting and Grading Yard of 2,000 sqm and Food
Testing Lab. In addition to that promoter is also set up an Anchor Unit with
an investment of Rs.105 crores for Maize Processing with an installed grinding
capacity of 500 Metric Tonnes a day.
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