World is looking at India to source agro-produce: Harsimrat Kaur Badal

What are your major achievements in the last three years? Where do you think the previous government failed?

We have two flagship projects — Mega Food Parks and Cold Chains (temperature-controlled supply chains). Both projects were kicked off in 2008. The previous government had sanctioned 42 Mega Food Parks, which were supposed to be operational within two years. But when I started taking care of this ministry in 2014, only two Mega Food Parks had become operational. In fact, 17 parks in Amethi, a VVIP constituency, never saw light of the day. In six long years, the previous government could set up only two parks. We have, however, already made six such parks operational and another four are almost ready. Similarly, the earlier government could set up only 37 of the sanctioned 97 Cold Chains, but we have set up 60 such chains in just three years.

How are other countries responding to India's plan of allowing 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in marketing of domestic food items?

Our main aim is to attract foreign companies to invest in India. We have had discussions with several retail companies and are getting a very good response. Recently, I visited many countries, including Japan, the UK, and Italy. Several companies in Japan are looking at India for vegetable supply. Also, many companies in the UAE want to make India a destination to source fruits and vegetables. Multinational brands such as Amazon, Big Basket, and Grofers have already shown interest in retail of food items.

As the food processing sector is directly linked to agriculture, how is your ministry planning to benefit both sectors in parallel?

We aim to create infrastructure to improve the entire food supply chain and the amount of food processed in India. Currently, India processes only 10 per cent of its produce, while many other smaller countries, such as Thailand, process 70 per cent of its fruits and vegetables. We are coming up with a Rs 6,000-crore scheme, named Sampada, for the processing sector. This scheme will integrate current and new schemes to reduce food wastage and double the farmers' income. Nearly Rs 15,000 crore has been invested in all these projects, which are expected to generate employment for 3.5 lakh people and benefit 15 lakh farmers.

How do you plan to tackle the problem of food wastage in India?

On the one hand, thousands of people in India sleep on an empty stomach every night, and on the other hand, a huge amount of food is wasted. This is a big problem. The annual post-harvest losses have been pegged at Rs 92,000 crore. The Food Parks and Cold Chains will help reduce this wastage. We have already sanctioned 42 Mega Food Parks and 234 Cold Chain projects, with a capacity to preserve and process 139 lakh tonnes of agro-produce, worth Rs 35,000 crore. We are also mapping all agro-clusters in the country, and under the new scheme, we will provide up to Rs 10 crore of subsidy to create infrastructure in these clusters. This way, we can have seamless transfer of food products from production centres to consuming centres.

Do you have any plans to popularise Indian cuisine globally?

We are organising a three-day World Food India Festival, 2017, in November to provide a platform to Indian farmers and manufacturers to showcase their products and explore partnerships with foreign companies. Many small, big, and multinational companies from across the world will participate in this event