Potential and gaps in food processing in northeast

The Central Government has given a big push to food processing sector in the country to reduce food wastage. North-eastern States failing to submit adequate number of proposals despite special concessions for the region is baffling. Various studies indicate that about 40% of perishable food is wasted in the country for dearth of adequate food processing units, cold chain and storage despite significant growth in the sector. The Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology at Ludhiana has estimated the harvest and post-harvest losses of major agricultural produces in India at Rs. 92651 crores. The estimate also indicates at the potential of growth in food processing sector in the country, provided allocated fund under various schemes is judiciously utilised. A recent report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing has brought to light that with regard to all the plan Schemes, especially the Food storage and Warehousing and North-Eastern Areas, there has been consistently negative variation for the years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively, as compared to the previous years. The committee points out that the receipt of inadequate proposals from the region is a recurring problem appearing year after year and accuses the Ministry of Food Processing Industries of remaining only as a mute spectator. The parliamentary panel finds the argument of the Ministry that receipt of inadequate proposals is the reason behind negative variation in the region "unacceptable" and held the view that the Ministry should have taken corrective steps to overcome the problem at the planning stage. The committee's recommendation for tangible steps to solve this problem during current financial year puts the onus on the Ministry to undertake focussed initiatives for the region.Various concessions available to projects in northeast region for under plan schemes include-higher rate of grants at the rate of 50% on eligible project cost for NER region against 35% in general areas; longer duration allowed for project completion time andlower requirement of promoter's capital - only 10% against 20% required for other regions. The increase in the allocation for the region from Rs. 121.12 crore in 2021-22 to Rs. 180 crore for 2022-23, is on account of higher budget allocations under two key schemes- Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) and the PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprise (PMFME). The PMKSY, is a comprehensive package aimed at creation of modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet and reducing wastage of agricultural produce, increasing the level of processing and enhancing the export of the processed foods. A key component of PMKSY is creation of Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure. The report states that the Saumitra Chaudhuri Committee constituted by the erstwhile Planning Commission in 2012 estimated the country's cold storage requirement at 61 million tonnes. A study undertaken by the National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCD), an autonomous body under the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, on All India Cold Chain Infrastructure Capacity (Assessment of Status and Gap) in 2015, estimated the existing cold storage capacity at 32 million tonnes and the requirement at 35 million tonnes. Progress made is significant but bridging the gap continues to be challenging task. The study also highlighted that against requirement of 70,000 integrated pack houses the existing capacity is only 250 pack houses, and against existing 10,000 Reefer Trucks, the requirement is 62,000 such trucks. While the country requires 9000 ripening chambers, it has only 800 chambers to meet the cold chain requirement. About the requirement of northeast region, the least said is better given the poor track record of failure to submit proposals despite higher incentives. Under the One District One Product (ODOP) approach of the PMFME, one product is identified in each district which is either a perishable agro-produce or cereals-based product and the Ministry supports micro units processing the product with funding pattern of 35% for common infrastructure and 50% for branding and marketing. The Ministry has signed MoU with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) for providing marketing and branding support for the products identified under the Scheme. The parliamentary panel has pointed out that only seven ODOP brands have been launched by NAFED so far which speaks volume about the pace of implementation of the PMFME scheme under which an ambitious target of providing credit linked subsidy to two lakh micro food processing units across the country with an approved outlay of Rs 10,000 crores. These central sector schemes have brought huge opportunities for agricultural and horticultural producers, entrepreneurs in northeast region which enjoys advantage of farming practice being organic by default. The region identifying gaps in scheme implementation and adopting innovative approach can ensure the desired change.