Absence of an investor-friendly policy is keeping away investors willing to invest in the food processing industry in Jharkhand, Union food processing minister Subodh Kant Sahay said here Saturday.
Sahay told FE that he had requested the Jharkhand government to draw up a separate ‘perishable commodities policy’ as such a policy could not be accommodated in the normal industrial policy that tended to focus more on steel and other industries.
Sahay, who was here to attend a seminar on ‘Backwardness of Muslims: Reasons & Remedies’ organised by the Muslim Adhikar Morcha, said the Jharkhand government wasn’t doing enough to get benefits of different schemes announced by the ministry.
Sahay said he had helped to form a committee for the food processing sector in Jharkhand with members from both the Jharkhand government and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
“Absence of an investor-friendly policy is keeping private investors away,” the Union minister said. Though the state government on a number of occasions had assured him of steps being taken to improve the situation, nothing tangible has been done yet, Sahay said.
Jharkhand is in the process of amending its existing Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act in line with the model code suggested by the Centre. According to Sahay, it is a step in the right direction as it would generate more demand for agriculture produce leading farmers to adopt cluster farming which would help them earn more.
“Once this God-dependant farming is replaced by the organised and market-driven one, farmers will be financially well-off,” said Sahay, adding that the transformation was urgently needed in the country as around 60% of the Indian population depended on the farm sector compared with only 4% in the US and around 8% in Europe.
Asked about the recent outburst against Reliance Fresh in Ranchi and the recent one-day bandh by small-time vegetable & other perishable goods vendors in Jamshedpur against the group’s proposed entry in the city, Sahay said he has asked the company to accommodate small-time retailers, excluding middlemen, in its supply chain.
Sahay said the model APMC Act did not pose any threat to the interests of farmers or vendors, and the resistance was originated from the lack of proper information.
He said while farmers will continue to own and cultivate the land, investments needed for supply of technology to improve yield, long-term planning for water, supply of good seeds, etc would be done by a third party.
The minister is convinced that farmers will be financially benefitted by the entry of retail chain stores as well as opportunities like contract farming.