CII seeks more incentives for food processing sector in WB

The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has sought more incentives from the West Bengal government for food processing sector for greater volume of investment in the state.
"Food Processing Industry is looking at more incentives for greater volume of investment in the state," the CII told the state's Agriculture Secretary Sanjeev Chopra during an interaction here.
"The states where there is no rent control for cold storage can avail the National Horticulture Board subsidy," chairman of the CII Eastern Region, Agriculture and Food Processing Task force, B Sumant told Chopra.
"West Bengal, already a top-performing state in agriculture in the country, can emerge as a robust hub of food processing industries. All it require is enabling policies and incentives," Sumant told the Agriculture Secretary.

"The CII ER Agriculture and Food Processing Taskforce is working on a White Paper to be submitted to the state government for its model food processing policy," Sumant said while apprising Chopra of the policies that a few states have adopted and the incentives they offered.
Stating that the state government was working on its Organic Farming Policy, Chopra said rice production was fast moving from the states like Punjab and Haryana to Bengal.

"The policies are in place, but the main concern is the trust deficit that continues to exist between farmers and industry," Chopra said, adding that the industry could step up its efforts to market what farmers were producing.

"Since the state government's stated policy is to encourage Farmer Produce Organisations (FPOs), it is counting on industry and NGOs to work closely with them. Each FPO consists of at least 1,000 farmers," Chopra said in a response to a query on contract farming.
"The state government can grant a subsidy of 50 per cent on drip irrigation to an organised group of farmers. CII could help farmers avail the subsidy," he said adding that industry may identify the products for which they need support from the state government.