Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal today inaugurated the Zoram Mega Food Park at Kolasib in Mizoram through virtual conference. The food park built at a cost of Rs 75 crore and spread over 55 acres of land is expected to directly benefit over 25,000 farmers and would provide employment opportunities to over 5,000 people in the region.
Describing the inauguration of the food park as a new dawn for the region, the minister said that in the last six years, 88 projects including seven in Mizoram initiated for the entire North-Eastern Region with an outlay of Rs 1000 crore by her ministry which would directly benefit 300,000 farmers and would provide job opportunities to 50,000 youth from the region.
According the Ministry of Food Processing, Government of India, the food park will help in doubling the income of farmers in the area by doing away with the middlemen. Referring to nearly 40percent wastage of fruits in the absence of any processing unit, the Minister said the rich and high variety of fruits could also be sold as pure packaged juice in major metropolitan cities in India. The North-East Region has the potential to become the organic destination of the world due to its rich agricultural and horticultural produce.
Zoram Mega Food Park located near National Highway 54 will help in overcoming the transportation constraints and will soon become a major milestone for the storage and processing of high variety of foods, spices, fruits and vegetables grown in the region.
