Shillong,July 21: Road show and World Food India 2017 and Promotion of New Scheme Kisan SAMPADA was held today in the city. organized by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India in association with Indian Chamber of Commerce with the support of Commerce & Industries Department, Government of Meghalaya. Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya, Mr. P. W. Ingty graced the inaugural function as Chief Guest.

Highlighting the vast business opportunities in food processing industry, the Chief Guest in his brief speech said that there are a good numbers of emerging entrepreneurs in the State. Therefore, he urged the entrepreneurs to take advantage of this scheme and make most out of the opportunities available to them.
Earlier, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Mr. Parag Gupta gave a power point presentation on World Food India 2017 and also on the new scheme Kisan SAMPADA.

World Food India 2017, a mega international event which is being held from 3rd-5th November, 2017 at New Delhi, will focus on investment opportunities and trade promotion in India’s food processing industry. The event will also showcase India’s food and culture.
SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) is an umbrella scheme incorporating ongoing schemes of the Ministry like Mega Food Parks, Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure, etc. and also new schemes like Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters, Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages, Creation / Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities. The objective of SAMPADA is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease agro-waste.
The SAMPADA is a comprehensive package to give a renewed thrust to the food processing sector in the country. The objective of the scheme is to provide effective and seamless backward and forward integration for processed food industry by plugging the gaps in supply chain in terms of availability of raw materials and linkages with the market. The scheme will link farmers to processors and the market thereby ensuring remunerative prices for their produce. It will also create huge employment opportunities especially in the rural areas. It will also help in reducing wastage of agricultural produce, increasing the processing level, availability of safe and convenient processed foods at affordable price to consumers and enhancing the export of the processed foods.

The inaugural session was also graced by the Director, Commerce and Industries Department, Mr. Nehru Suting and Additional Director, Indian Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Madhuparna Bhowmick.