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Thipuzu: Thipuzumi kiwi and allied food processing cluster common facility centre (CFC) with the processing line capacity of 500 kg/per hour was inaugurated in Thipuzu village under Phek district on Friday.
The facility was funded under the SFURTI programme of the government of India and will be implemented by Thipuzumi Kiwi Farming Cooperative Society. The Arohan Foods Private Limited is the technical agency and the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship, Guwahati, is the nodal agency for the project.
The CFC is located at Zathilu in Chokriba under Phek district and all the products made from the centre would be branded as Mujo (which means green in the local dialect).
Secretary of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), government of India, BB Swain, formally inaugurated the facility in the presence of leaders and representatives from different villages.
Addressing the people, he said the main focus of MSME was to create jobs and not just job seekers and envisaged bringing technology to boost the farming system and to help entrepreneurs. He stated that the centre wanted the MSME sector to become the biggest employment provider to the people in the country.
Also speaking on the occasion, the advisor of Civil Administration Works Department (CAWD) and Taxes, Kudecho Khamo, assured the people that he would give his best effort for the development of the agri-allied sector and local economy. He added that the local area development fund would be fully utilised for the rural economy and agri-allied development.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]The joint secretary of MSME, Mercy Epao, who was instrumental in bringing the project to the people, stated that the government is now contemplating on setting up other facilities to preserve different types of pulses in the future. Stating that focus would also be given to agriculture tourism, she called upon the locals to conserve its land, forest, and natural resources.
Presenting the technical report, Arindam Hazarika, director of Arohan Foods Pvt Ltd, stated that the unit could produce 3 to 4 tons of processed goods and up to 10 tons of primary processed fresh goods every day. He added that the facility was designed with a 3000 cft cold storage to help the farmers store fresh and semi-processed goods.
As the area is known for their superior quality production of various fruits like kiwi, persimmon, guava and others, he exuded confidence that the centre would be able to process value-added products and reach markets across India and Southeast Asia.
He added that during off seasons, the facility could produce dehydrated fruits, jams, jellies, juices, concentrates, preserves, honey, bamboo shoot, pickles etc. He said capacity building sessions on food technology, food processing, food safety, basic business management, book keeping, branding, channel management etc. would be conducted.
‘The CFC is expected to boost the kiwi and persimmon farming industry in the region and create more opportunities for farmers in the area. The facility will enable the farmers to process their fruits into high-quality products and increase their income. The inauguration of the CFC marks a significant milestone in the development of the agriculture industry in Nagaland,’ he said.
The event saw attendance of villagers from neighbouring villages along with several prominent guests including government officials, representatives from the nodal agency from Guwahati, KVIC, village council, MSME, horticulture etc.
A representative from Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Nagaland, informed that a total of 200 bee boxes and sets of processing unit were distributed to the people. Bee boxes with live bee colonies and tool kits as well as fruits and vegetables processing tools and equipments were also given to various SHGs during the programme.