Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur  Badal on Monday inaugurated Zoram Mega Food Park, the first in Mizoram

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The Scheme of Mega Food Park aims at providing a mechanism to link agricultural production to the market by bringing together farmers, processors and retailers so as to ensure maximizing value addition, minimizing wastage,

increasing farmers income

and creating employment opportunities particularly in rural sector.

The Mega Food Park Scheme is based on “Cluster” approach and envisages creation of state of art support infrastructure in a well-defined agri / horticultural zone for setting up of modern food processing units in the industrial plots provided in the park with well-established supply chain. Mega food park typically consist of supply chain infrastructure including collection centers, primary processing centers, central processing centers, cold chain and around 25-30 fully developed plots for entrepreneurs to set up food processing units

Srini mega  food park at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh is the first mega food park in the country.

BENEFITS

1.From seed to shelf, end-to-end food processing with beneficial forward and backward linkages.

2.Mega Food Park will reducing post-harvest losses and hedge the farmer’s risk; will shall provide gainful employment.

3.Will generation of  additional income for the farmers.

4. Will enable value chain from the farm to the market.

5.Exposing farmers to a more systematic, market driven and profitable farming activities.

6. Direct as well as indirect employment generation in rural areas.

7. Rural connectivity, storage and warehousing facilities to reduce high percentage of agricultural wastage.