look news india
The Yogi government has taken a historic step towards giving a new impetus to the rural economy of Uttar Pradesh and connecting agricultural products at the local level with the global market. The state government has given green signal to the establishment of 51 new modern food processing units in 25 major districts including the capital Lucknow. Under this ambitious industrial initiative, a total of private and institutional investment worth Rs 276.80 crore will come to the ground in the state. To speed up the project, the government has also released the first financial installment of Rs 65.55 crore with immediate effect. This scheme will directly benefit crores of farmers associated with the farms, because in all these processing plants, first priority will be given to the fresh produce of local farmers as raw material, which will increase their income and the post-harvest losses will be completely controlled.
Under the Uttar Pradesh Food Processing Industry Policy-2023, financial and policy incentives are being given on a large scale to the establishment of these modern processing units. The list of 25 districts selected by the government includes all the major agricultural belts of the state in a balanced manner. These districts include Lucknow, Kanpur Nagar, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Agra, Bareilly, Aligarh, Hathras, Sitapur, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Badaun, Azamgarh, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Shravasti, Etawah, Kushinagar, Etah, Bahraich, Bijnor, Bulandshahr, Rampur and Hardoi. Cluster based processing centers will be built in these districts, due to which value addition of crops, fruits, vegetables and oilseeds and pulses grown suitable to the local climate and soil will be possible at the local level.
Final approval was given to these 51 projects in the high level meeting of the State Level Empowered Committee (SLEC) held under the chairmanship of the Agricultural Production Commissioner. The entire proposal was approved after the formal approval of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. The main point of the policy is to ensure that 100% of the raw materials required to run any processing plant are supplied on contract basis from local farmers and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). According to officials, with this coordination, farmers will not have to depend on middlemen to sell their produce and they will get fair and remunerative prices for their crops near the fields. Along with this, there will be a huge decline in wastage of produce due to lack of storage and transportation, which will provide a massive boost to the rural economy.
Through this massive industrial expansion, new opportunities for direct and indirect employment will be created on a large scale in rural areas. Financial subsidy and technical assistance is being provided to small entrepreneurs, self-help groups and progressive farmers in joint coordination with the Prime Minister Micro Food Industry Upgradation Scheme (PMFME) of the Central Government and the Food Processing Industry Policy of the State. This will provide a strong platform to youth and women, especially from rural backgrounds, to establish self-employment and micro enterprises. The government has also set stringent standards for all investors and entrepreneurs to ensure transparency and security. Under this, it has been made mandatory for the concerned units to obtain valid No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the competent authorities of the state before starting operations.