CMIA, MACCIA plan to establish Marathwada agro cluster

AURANGABAD: The Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MACCIA) and Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture (CMIA) are planning to forward a proposal to the state government to establish Marathwada agro cluster with an aim to provide a platform to the farmers, boost the growth of food processing industry and increase its export potential.
MACCIA president Ram Bhogale said, “The industrial bodies will make recommendations for growth of the agro and food processing sector, which has huge investment potential considering easy availability of raw material and conducive business environment. The weather in Marathwada permits growth of certain types of crops, vegetables and fruits in surplus. This should be developed as sound economic clusters and provided all necessary infrastructure, storage and transport facilities, power and irrigation on a priority basis.”
“Just like auto cluster, the MACCIA and CMIA are making efforts to form an agro cluster. Steps are being initiated to form a special purpose vehicle. We have been in talks with the farmers since the last eight months. Moreover, major agro-based industries too have shown their willingness to invest in the project,” Bhogale said.
“Moreover, with India lagging behind in food processing as compared to other countries, the government has decided to promote agro industries and introduced various subsidies. The contribution of state and central governments would be 70% while the private parties will contribute 30%. Generating funds from the farmers is a big challenge. But fortunately, with major players pitching in, things are moving in a positive direction,” he said.
“Only 6% food is being processed in our country, while China and England process 60 % and 110% of its food respectively. Considering huge potential in the industry, the cluster would help export fruits and vegetables from Marathwada to other countries. Today, most of the exports take place at Mumbai airport, which is equipped with cargo facility. Aurangabad airport too has enough scope to develop a cargo facility. If the facility is provided in near future, it would boost the agro industry in Marathwada,” he said.
“Hence, with an aim to establish Marathwada as the processing and packaging hub and provide platform to the farmers, MACCIA has organized a four-day conference on ‘high-tech agriculture and food processing’ from Saturday on the campus of MIT college,” Bhogale said.
“The exhibition-cum-conference supported by CMIA, Marathwada Association of Small Scale Industries and Agriculture (MASSIA) and Vyapari Mahasangh will be inaugurated by state agriculture minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil,” he added.
“The conference will guide the entrepreneurs and farmers to promote small and medium scale food processing industries by using locally available raw material which will cover the marketing exposure of the finished products. Besides, an exhibition of high-tech agriculture and food processing companies will be on display, which will showcase the agro-based products and food processing technologies,” said Mangesh Palaskar of MASSIA.
“The conference would accommodate 1,000 delegates and more than 30,000 visitors from in and around the region. About 150 stalls would be put up,” he added.