India to set up mega food park in Uttar Pradesh

The Indian Government is planning to set up a mega food park in the state of Uttar Pradesh, with an investment of Rs1.5bn ($28.12m), under the union food processing ministry scheme.

The central government will provide incentives to establish the park, which is aimed at increasing farm income and adding value to agricultural produce. The park will be located in the state capital Lucknow and will span over an area of 40ha.

Uttar Pradesh Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner (IIDC) Anil Kumar Gupta said 50-60 firms have already applied for setting up units at the proposed mega food park.

"This matter had been caught in some legal and bureaucratic issues, which we are confident will be resolved by month end," Gupta said at an interactive session with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Uttar Pradesh is considered to have a huge potential for food processing and exports, due to its high output of both food grains and horticulture, including potato, sugarcane, wheat, rice and vegetables.

In a similar move earlier this year, Anil Group announced its plan to start the construction of a $39.18m mega food park in the state of Gujarat, which will have a potential to accommodate 30-40 food processing industries over an area of 40ha.

It will feature units with modern infrastructure and technology as well as common infrastructure required for processing, packaging, and environmental protection systems.

Under the Mega Food Parks Scheme, India is setting up mega food parks for specific segments such as fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat and poultry, and wine to create backward and forward linkages covering the complete food processing value chain and to implement best practices as part of the post harvest management.

The Mega Food Parks Scheme envisages that each food park will feature 30-40 food processing industries, benefitting 6,000 farmers directly and 25,000-30,000 farmers indirectly.

According to an official estimate, the country has to invest about Rs1,000bn ($18.75bn) to increase its level of food processing to 25% of the total agricultural produce annually.

While Asian countries like Thailand and the Philippines have benefitted due to their strong food processing capabilities, much needs to be done in India, where the percentage of food processing industry is a mere 10%, compared to the 80%-85% in developed countries.