Global Investors Meet: Develop cold storage chains in TN for supply of perishable goods, Nabard official says

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu should develop four or five cold chains and create a model to realise the agricultural and food processing potential of the state, said chief general manager of Nabard (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) K Venkateswara Rao on Thursday.
"We could develop four to five cold chains for perishables like milk chains, fruits and vegetables across northern and southern Tamil Nadu," he said while speaking at a seminar on agro and food processing, held as part of the Global Investment Meet here.
The overall project estimate for such cold chains could range from Rs 1,500crore to Rs 2,000crore with an average investment of Rs 400crore to Rs 500crore per chain, he said.
Rao said the potential of food parks in the state could be utilised. "We have two food parks -- in Virudhunagar and Krishnagiri -- and there is potential for food processing companies to set up units in these regions."
He mooted the concept of farmer involvement in the food processing chain. "A group of farmers or farmer federations, farmer producer companies or a cluster of SHGs (self-help groups) can engage in some processing of primary produce and link it to the main hub,” he said.
He added that marine products showed promising potential.
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