Jangipur: President Pranab Mukherjee today inaugurated a Mega Food Park at Jangipur in Murshidabad, aimed at providing critical food processing infrastructure to the farmers of this backward belt in West Bengal.
The new food park will minimise the wastage of food products, Mukherjee said after inaugurating the Food Park in the presence of West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi and union and state ministers.
Mukherjee’s son Abhijeet, the MP from Jangipur, was also present during the function.
The project, considered close to Mukherjee’s heart, was accorded in-principle approval in December 2008 and final approval in March 2010. It will benefit the farmers of North 24 Parganas, Birbhum, Malda and Burdwan districts.
Noting that India is second in fruit production after Brazil and next only to China in vegetable production, the President hoped that India would minimise the wastage of food products through projects like this.
He added that the food park will help farmers of the area get better price for their produce.
Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the promise made by the Centre during the UPA government in 2008 has been fulfilled by the NDA government in 2016.
“The Mega Food Park will leverage an additional investment of about Rs 250 crore in food processing units in the Park, generate a turnover of about Rs 500 crore annually and is expected to provide direct and indirect employment to 6,000 people and benefit about 25,000-30,000 farmers in the catchment areas,” she said.
Badal said connecting farmers with food processing infrastructure and creating markets are her primary goals so that farmers get remunerative price of their produce.
“Mega Food Park at Jangipur has been set up at a cost of Rs 132.71 crore approximately in an area of 82.11 acres with a grant of Rs 50 crore provided by my ministry,” she added.