EMN
Dimapur, February 19
The nascent–or more aptly, feeble–food processing industry in Nagaland may have received a grateful dose of impetus with the central government announcing two production facilities for the state. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has announced an abattoir and a testing laboratory for the state, among a set of several similar facilities for the north eastern states.
The ministry has sanctioned eight projects to build abattoirs in the north eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. The entire project is to establish modern abattoirs to ensuring hygienic and scientific meat processing, Union Minister Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal said in Guwahati during a visit to the Vibrant North-East 2016 Summit in Guwahati on Thursday, February 18.
The minister also said that the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has sanctioned six food testing laboratories for the states of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The project is to create infrastructure for food safety and quality testing, she said.
Similar works are food parks for Assam, Mizoram, and Tripura. The cold chain projects would come up in Assam, Manipur and Mizoram which have a capacity of 11,500 metric tonnes of cold storage.
Speaking at the summit, Badal said that the north-eastern states are rich in resources and the central government was “committed to addressing the issue of development of north east. Therefore, she said, the focus of the prime minister is to ensure wholesome development of the north-east region and to link farmers with modern technology driven agricultural practices and also to accelerate the pace of developmental projects in this region.
‘The north eastern region holds lot of potential for food processing as the weather and adequate availability of water are conducive to food cultivation and suitable for growing large variety of fruits and vegetables,’ she said.
Badal informed about the Ministry of Food Processing Industries pursuing development of north east through its schemes of mega food parks, cold chains, abattoirs and development of food testing laboratories.
As a step in this direction, three mega food parks have been sanctioned for this region, one each in Assam (which has been made operational), Mizoram and in Tripura. Give cold chain projects have also been sanctioned by the Ministry in the States of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram which have a capacity of 11500 MT of cold storage, 0.75 MT/per Hr of IQF capacity; 68 reefer trucks, besides the project for abattoirs
The minister informed that the ministry has taken up the issue of allowing 100% FDI in multi-brand retail for such food which is produced by the Indian farmers and food products that are manufactured in India. She also said that consultations with the stakeholders are being done on this issue. She informed that this would be a revolutionary step towards modernization of food retail and providing fair remuneration to farmers.
Badal urged the entrepreneurs to come forward to set up food processing industries in the North Eastern and make use of financial assistance provided by the Government which will usher in a new era of higher income to farmers, employment generation to the youth of this region as well as help in creating necessary infrastructure for the North-Eastern Region.
Food processing is the transformation of raw ingredients, by physical or chemical means into food, or of food into other forms. Food processing combines raw food ingredients to produce marketable food products that can be easily prepared and served by the consumer.
Food processing typically involves activities such as mincing and macerating, liquefaction, emulsification, and cooking (such as boiling, broiling, frying, or grilling); pickling, pasteurization, and many other kinds of preservation; and canning or other packaging. (Primary-processing such as dicing or slicing, freezing or drying when leading to secondary products are also included.)
