Employment generation in rural areas to be the focus area: Food Processing Minister Badal

Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said employment generation in rural areas will be one of her top priorities in the next five years and she wants farmers' children to become job creators rather than job seekers.

Harsimrat, wife of Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, won from Bathinda constituency by defeating Congress candidate Amrinder Singh Raja Warring with a margin of 21,772 votes in the Lok Sabha polls.

The three-time Member of Parliament, Badal, said a new scheme 'Gram Samridhi Yojana', aimed at benefitting unorganised food processing sector, has been framed in collaboration with the World Bank and would soon be rolled out.

"One of my focus areas will be employment generation in the rural sector. I want farmers' children to become job creators rather than becoming job seekers," Badal said.

She said her ministry would provide farmers the required know-how, handholding and infrastructure to enter food processing sector and undertake value addition of crops.

"Whatever is grown in the farm should have value addition and also be linked to the markets so that rural children come into food processing and become job creators," she told PTI.

Creating infrastructure for food processing, bringing down wastage and value addition to crops would continue to be the focus area of her ministry, the minister said.

Sharing her plans, the 53-year-old Union Minister said that 'Gram Samridhi Yojana' would be implemented in three to four states on a pilot basis.

"I worked for two years to frame a new scheme, 'Gram Samridhi Yojana', and it is meant for small farmers and growers. We will give grant to small farmers for adding value to produce or processing or packaging, cleaning, grading, preservation, making juice, among others," she said.

She added that the farmers will get a 50 per cent grant for machines if their project is below Rs 10 lakh.

There is also a plan to set up 70,000 to 90,000 micro units under 'Gram Samridhi Yojana'.

"I think this scheme is going to be finalised in the cabinet within next few days," she further said.

Badal said she was also working towards creating a fund for the food processing sector.