Chirag Paswan says food processing can take India from farms to global brands

Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Thursday said the food processing sector is playing a key role in ensuring fair value for agricultural produce, supporting entrepreneurs and helping rural families move towards self-reliance. He said India should not be known only for agricultural production, but also for high-quality branding and value addition in global markets.

Speaking at the 'Aashirwad Ka Diya' event at the Collectorate Office in Thane district of Maharashtra, Paswan highlighted the sector's growth over the past decade and the Centre's efforts to strengthen it through various schemes. The event was organised under the 'Sewa Sankalp Abhiyan' and 'Sewa Diwas' initiatives of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

Senior officials, including Joint Secretary Preet Pal Singh and Thane District Collector Shrikrishna Panchal, were present at the event. Paswan said the sector's Gross Value Added rose to Rs 2.24 lakh crore in 2023-24 from Rs 1.34 lakh crore in 2014-15. He also said the share of processed food in India's total agro-food exports increased to 20.4 per cent.

He said the food processing sector plays an important role in ensuring fair value for farmers' produce, empowering local entrepreneurs and steering rural families towards self-reliance. Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana, 1,256 projects have been operationalised, creating a processing capacity of 294 lakh metric tonnes, generating 9.16 lakh job opportunities and attracting private investment worth Rs 24,000 crore, he said.

Paswan said that under the PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises scheme, loans have been sanctioned to more than 2 lakh micro-enterprises, along with seed capital support for more than 4 lakh self-help group members. He also praised Maharashtra's performance, saying the state has emerged as the national leader in implementing the scheme.

According to the figures shared at the event, Maharashtra has sanctioned 32,168 projects, trained a nationwide record 48,195 beneficiaries, and disbursed Rs 221.55 crore in seed capital to 61,323 women self-help group members. Paswan also interacted with beneficiaries and reiterated the commitment to take local products to global markets through packaging, branding, e-commerce and quick-commerce integration, underlining the sector's role in expanding opportunities from farms to markets.