CII asks Bengal for more incentives to food processing sector

Industry lobby CII on Thursday urged the West Bengal government to provide more incentives for the food processing sector so as to rope in greater volume of investment in the state.

The CII members, who interacted with state Agriculture Secretary Sanjeev Chopra, pointed out that states without rent control for cold storage can avail National Horticulture Board subsidy, a statement from the chamber said.

During the interaction with the agriculture and food processing task force members of CII, Eastern region, Chopra said the state government was working on its organic farming policy.

"Chopra said that policies are in place, but the main concern is the trust deficit that continues to exist between farmers and industry. It will take some time efforts to remove it," the statement said.

He suggested the industry step up efforts to market farmers' produce, and said "if corporate houses market Badhshabhog rice in big way, it will be win-win for both".

As part of West Bengal's stated policy of encouraging Farmer Produce Organisations (FPOs), the state is counting on industry and NGOs to work closely with them. Each FPO consists of at least 1,000 farmers.

He said the government can grant a subsidy of 50 per cent on drip irrigation to an organised group of farmers.

The task force is working on a white paper to be submitted to the state government for its model food processing policy, according to the statement.

--IANS

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