3rd CII Farm2Fork, Seminar cum Exposition on Food Processing & Agribusiness Potential of Odisha

 3^rd CII Farm2Fork, Seminar cum Exposition on Food Processing & Agribusiness Potential of Odisha

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Bhubaneswar, 23 September 2017:  CII in collaboration with Government of Odisha organised a Farm2Fork , Seminar cum Exposition on Food Processing & Agribusiness Potential of Odisha on 23 Septemeber 2017 at Bhubaneswar.

 Dr Damodar Rout, Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Empowerment, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development, Public Enterprises; Government of Odisha congratulated CII for organizing Farm2FORK. As the time is critical, Government of India has recently launched Kissan Sampada Yojna to improve the food processing strength of the country. He further explained some local crops like Koraput Coffee, Lemon grass and other specialities which can reap high benefits to the farmers in Odisha. Addressing the gathering, Mr Gagan Kumar Dhal, IAS, Agriculture Production Commissioner, Department of Agriculture, Government of Odisha informed that the farm growth of the state has been doubled in the last 5 years. Odisha’s per acre productivity is higher than the National coverage. He also informed that in the coming two months of time, APICOL will introduce single window mechanism and eliminate manual application. He also stressed the importance of clusters approach in improving the producers’ income. He mentioned that existing clusters in mango, ginger and turmeric would be further monitored and stabilized. He urged CII to identify potentials new clusters to improve the market intelligence mechanism in partnering with CII and private sector. He hinted that the State government is planning to bring in special policy on integrated agriculture which has the potential earning of Rs 2 Lacs per acre. Besides, the State Government is also working on state organic farming policy, diversification of agriculture, identification of special economic zone for farming and utilization of micro nutrients to improve soil fertility. He also briefed the farm mechanism with smaller tools that can produce better yield in farming.

Mr Gokul Patnaik, Member of Advisory Board of CII – Jubilant Bhartia Food & Agriculture Centre of Excellence  (FACE) & Chairman, Global Agrisystem Pvt Ltd mentioned that time has come to look at agriculture in a more holistic manner. Agriculture should now be renamed as Agri-business and concentrated efforts should be made on integrating various aspects such as input, output, storing, processing, distribution and marketing methodologies to make it a profitable venture. Gone are the days when farming was considered as a service to the country. It has to be profitable to improve the economic growth of the country. He said that there is a huge potential for Food Processing to add value in Agri-business. Currently 7% of food produced in India goes to processing, whereas in China it is more than 40%, Thailand it’s more than 70% and UK & USA it exceeds to 80%. It is important to look at the upcoming trends worldwide, however in Odisha, we must look at our additional strength. Citing example, he mentioned that Sorghum, finger millets have similar energy value as Quinoa, which has built up a global demand. Jackfruit, sweet potato, ginger, turmeric, mangoes, tamarind, maize have huge potential for food processing in our State. Odisha can be a lead supplier of poultry to Delhi and Northern Regions which is currently being catered by Coimbatore. Similarly Odisha can play a lead role to reach the demand for milk in West Bengal.

While addressing the Sea Food Sector in the State, Mr Amarendra Dash, Past Chairman, CII Odisha State Council & Chairman and Managing Director, Suryo Udyog Ltd mentioned that the current business of this sector is hovering around 3000 Crore. Currently the Sea Food sector in the State is primarily managed by home grown entrepreneurs which was not that easy, when he came into the business in in the 70’s . He further mentioned that the sea food sector can easily reach 10,000 Crores of business with a little handholding by the government. The issues like leasing of lands to farmers, road connectivity, quality and uninterrupted power supply can lead to high rise in the sea food sector.

 

Earlier, Dr Pradipta Mohanty, Convenor-Agro & Food Processing Panel -CII Odisha State Council & Chairman, Surendra Agritech Pvt Ltd, in his welcome remarks mentioned that the primary agenda of  Farm2Fork 2017 is to showcase and explore the opportunities in food and agri-business potential of the state. He mentioned that Indians spend 30 % income on food products and expenditure on food is estimated to be INR 248 trillion by 2020. Urbanisation and increasing demand for ready to eat / processed food has a potential to create business worth of INR 4.25 Lakh Crore by 2020 and also generate nearly 9 million jobs.

In line with the subject , Agri Business Potential of Crops/Spices, Aquaculture, Poultry & Dairy Food and also Agro Business: Infrastructure & Allied Service topics were discussed vividly during the technical sessions.Dr Pradipta Mohanty, Convenor-Agro & Food Processing Panel, CII Odisha State Council & Chairman, Surendra Agritech Pvt Ltd, Mr Sriram Panda, Co-Convenor, Agro & Food Processing Panel ,CII Odisha State Council & Managing Director, MITS Food Park Ltd, Mr Gokul Patnaik, IAS (Retd),Member of Advisory Board of CII – Jubilant Bhartia Food & Agriculture Centre of Excellence  (FACE) & Chairman, Global AgriSystem Pvt Ltd, Mr Amarendra Dash, Past Chairman, CII Odisha State Council & Chairman and Managing Director, Suryo Udyog Ltd,Dr Damodar Rout , Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Empowerment, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development, Public Enterprises; Government of Odisha, Mr Gagan Kumar Dhal, IAS , Agriculture Production Commissioner, Department of Agriculture,  Government of Odisha , Mr Deepak Kumar Singh, Dy Director & State Head , CII Odisha

 Mr Sriram Panda, Co-Convenor, Agro & Food Processing Panel ,CII Odisha State Council & Managing Director, MITS Food Park Ltd, Mr Gokul Patnaik, IAS (Retd),Member of Advisory Board of CII – Jubilant Bhartia Food & Agriculture Centre of Excellence  (FACE) & Chairman, Global AgriSystem Pvt Ltd, Dr Damodar Rout , Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Empowerment, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development, Public Enterprises; Government of Odisha, Mr Gagan Kumar Dhal, IAS, Agriculture Production Commissioner, Department of Agriculture,  Government of Odisha , Dr Pradipta Mohanty, Convenor-Agro & Food Processing Panel, CII Odisha State Council & Chairman, Surendra Agritech Pvt Ltd, Mr Deepak Kumar Singh, Dy Director & State Head , CII OdishaDr Damodar Rout , Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Empowerment, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development, Public Enterprises; Government of Odisha, Mr Sriram Panda, Co-Convenor, Agro & Food Processing Panel ,CII Odisha State Council & Managing Director, MITS Food Park Ltd, Mr Gokul Patnaik, IAS (Retd),Member of Advisory Board of CII – Jubilant Bhartia Food & Agriculture Centre of Excellence  (FACE) & Chairman, Global AgriSystem Pvt Ltd, Mr Amarendra Dash, Past Chairman, CII Odisha State Council & Chairman and Managing Director, Suryo Udyog Ltd, Mr Gagan Kumar Dhal, IAS,Agriculture Production Commissioner, Department of Agriculture,  Government of Odisha , Dr Pradipta Mohanty, Convenor-Agro & Food Processing Panel, CII Odisha State Council & Chairman, Surendra Agritech Pvt Ltd, Mr Deepak Kumar Singh, Dy Director & State Head , CII OdishaDr Damodar Rout , Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Empowerment, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development, Public Enterprises; Government of Odisha, Mr Sriram Panda, Co-Convenor, Agro & Food Processing Panel ,CII Odisha State Council & Managing Director, MITS Food Park Ltd, Mr Gokul Patnaik, IAS (Retd),Member of Advisory Board of CII – Jubilant Bhartia Food & Agriculture Centre of Excellence  (FACE) & Chairman, Global AgriSystem Pvt Ltd, Mr Amarendra Dash, Past Chairman, CII Odisha State Council & Chairman and Managing Director, Suryo Udyog Ltd, Mr Gagan Kumar Dhal, IAS,Agriculture Production Commissioner, Department of Agriculture,  Government of Odisha , Dr Pradipta Mohanty, Convenor-Agro & Food Processing Panel, CII Odisha State Council & Chairman, Surendra Agritech Pvt Ltd, Mr Deepak Kumar Singh, Dy Director & State Head , CII Odisha