Rajasthan Unveils Plan to Boost Farm Income Through Food Processing, Value Addition

The Rajasthan government is developing new strategies for food processing and value addition to agricultural produce, aiming to transform the state's agricultural potential into economic prosperity. A stakeholder consultation held on Monday at the State Secretariat focused on strengthening the rural economy through these measures.

Chief Secretary V. Srinivas, who presided over the consultation, stated that value addition would secure better prices for farmers' produce, attract investment, and create new employment opportunities for the youth. He outlined that the new strategies would include establishing food processing units, developing food parks and agro-processing clusters, and improving facilities for entrepreneurs. Financial assistance would be provided to industries to accelerate the sector's growth.

Detailed discussions were held on expanding the food processing sector, exploring opportunities, addressing challenges, and necessary policy reforms. The meeting was attended by A.P. Das Joshi, Secretary of the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries, along with representatives from industry, micro, small and medium enterprises, farmer producer organisations, exporters, startups, agricultural universities, and the banking sector.

Mr. Srinivas emphasised that coordination between the Union and state governments, industries, financial institutions, and agricultural and academic bodies would ensure steady growth of the food processing sector. He added that policy and institutional initiatives would be based on stakeholder feedback.

Key recommendations from participants included easier access to financial assistance for industries, strengthening of food testing laboratories and incubation centres, expansion of cold chain and processing infrastructure, and reforms for effective implementation of schemes. The focus was also on creating an investment-friendly environment in the state.

Mr. Das Joshi urged stakeholders in Rajasthan to fully leverage the potential of the agriculture and horticulture sectors to augment farmers' income and generate large-scale employment. State Agriculture Secretary Rajan Vishal provided details on the government's incentive policies and the proposed food park policy.