'Industry, govt should jointly promote food processing sector'

The academic fraternity, industry and the government should come together and work for promotion and development of food processing sector in Jharkhand, the state Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Minister Saryu Rai said today.
Jharkhand has a lot of scope to grow in food processing industry and technology in this sector has also been developed, Rai said at a seminar, 'Opportunities for Food Processing in Kolhan', jointly organised by Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Adityapur Industrial Area Development Authority (AIADA) at 'Chamber Bhawan' here.
"The only thing we need is to make a sincere effort to take advantage of the technologies and process the perishable fruits and vegetables to preserve it," the Minister said.

Assuring all assistance to investors keen to pump in resources in this sector, the Minister talked about the need for quality production and to conduct quality test before the commencement of production.
"Of the total fruits and vegetables the country produces annually, around 25 to 30 per cent of perishable produce (fruits and vegetables) worth Rs 50,000 crore are wasted due to lack of facility or awareness," said Professor H N Mishra, Head of Department (Agriculture) at IIT, Kharagpur.
The Managing Director of AIADA, Yugal Kishore Choubey regretted that mineral-rich Jharkhand is lagging despite having enough potential for growth.
Choubey said AIADA would provide land for prospective investors keen to invest in this sector.

SCCI President Suresh Sonthalia said the Kolhan region, comprising East and West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharswan districts, is the topmost region of the state as far as production of vegetables is concerned but it does not have facilities to preserve it.