Patanjali aims to increase farmers' income ten times: Acharya Balkrishna

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Patanjali is moving forward with an aim to increase the income of farmers tenfold, said company CEO Acharya Balkrishna on Saturday.

Speaking at Advantage Assam-Global Investors Summit'18 in Guwahati, Balkrishna said, "Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a target of doubling the income of farmers if businessmen and industrialists take a pledge to not let waste products of farmers then their income can be increased by ten times within three to four years."

He added that Patanjali is marching ahead with the aim of increasing the income of farmers by tenfold.

Balkrishna highlighted the low rate of food processing in India.

"Whereas USA process 90 percent of its food, China 40 percent, Thailand 30 percent but India processes only six to eight percent of its food," Balkrishna said.

Under the guidance of Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, Patanjali has been doing remarkable work in the food processing sector.

"India currently processes 7 crore tonnes food, and out of it, Patanjali processes around 20 lakh tonnes. Patanjali has set a target of processing one crore tonnes food by 2020," he said.

The Patanjali CEO also highlighted the opportunities in the northeast.

"Patanjali has also started its activities in Northeast because there are many opportunities. In Northeast, around Rs, 1350 crore has been invested in food processing industry and out of it Patanjali has invested 1200 crore," Balkrishna said.

Talking about medicinal plants, he said, " Out of world's over 3 lakh medicinal plants, around 22000 in India. There are 7000 medicinal plants are in the northeast. Out of 30 percent of available biodiversity in India, 20 families of the plant are the world's oldest. World's oldest medicinal plant family is in the northeast."

Outlining Patanjali's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, Balkrishna said that Patanjali is also conducting a training programme for cultivation and seed banks are being established, ayurvedic college and schools, free yoga classes.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the summit.

The two-day event, starting today, will showcase the state's manufacturing opportunities and geostrategic advantages to foreign and domestic investors.

The Summit has been organized by the Assam Government, in association with the industry body the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), aiming to position the state as India's Expressway to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

There are a number of focus sectors, identified by the state, which includes agriculture and food processing, organic farming, bamboo, handloom, textile and handicrafts, inland water transport, riverfront development and logistics.