No.125/2020-2021

Aizawl, the 20th July 2020 : Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal today inaugurated Zoram Mega Food Park (MFP), Mizoram’s first large scale food processing infrastructure through video conferencing in the virtual presence of Shri Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region. The virtual inauguration was also attended by Dr. R. Lalthangliana, Minister, Commerce & Industries; Pu Lalzirliana, Minister, P&E; Pu C. Lalrosanga, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha; Pu Andrew H. Thangliana, MLA, Tuirial Assembly Constituency; Pu C. Ramhluna, Vice Chairman, Industrial Development Board besides officials of Commerce & Industries Department and Board of Directors of Zoram Mega Food Park.

Speaking at the virtual inauguration Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that the modern infrastructure for food processing created at the MFP will benefit the farmers, growers, processors and consumers of Mizoram and adjoining areas immensely and prove to be a big boost to the growth of the food processing sector in the State of Mizoram. Smt. Badal shared that, so far, a total of 88 MoFPI supported projects have been sanctioned in the North Eastern Region and 41 have been implemented. She added that projects worth Rs. 1000 Crores approximately have been sanctioned with a subsidy support of over Rs. 520 Crores. She said that 88 projects when fully completed would create processing and preservation capacity for 8.66 Lakh MT to handle Agro produce worth Rs. 2,166 Crores.

Smt. Badal added that the government is fully committed to providing an environment that is smooth, transparent and easy for investors wanting to start an enterprise in India and in a bid to make India a resilient food economy and the Food Factory of the World, the government has made Food Processing a major thrust area of ‘Make in India’ she added. She said that under the visionary guidance of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is focusing on boosting the food processing industry so that agriculture sector grows exponentially and become a major contributor to doubling the farmer’s income and ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government.

Dr. Jitendra Singh, MoS, DoNER said that the Prime Minister has asked all Ministries to allocate projects in the North Eastern states for greater development of the region. He said that DoNER is happy that this MFP with State-of-the-Art facilities would boost the food processing infrastructure of Mizoram.

Sh. Rameswar Teli, MoS, FPI said that the State Government of Mizoram has extended great cooperation in the setting up of this MFP. He added that this MFP is spread over 55.00 acres of land and is set up at a cost of Rs. 75. 20 crores. Shri Teli added that the facilities being provided in the Zoram MFP will not only reduce food wastage but would also lead to value addition in food products. He further said that this park will help in enhancing the income of farmers and ensuring fair price of farm produce.

Dr. R. Lalthangliana said that the Government of Mizoram is extremely encouraged by the establishment of this project. Projects like the Mega Food Park and other capacity schemes promoted by MoFPI and other allied Ministries will supplement and strengthen the efforts that Mizoram is making to promote and structure Mizoram’s processing and value addition capabilities, he said. He pointed that once the Food Park functions to its full capacity, he hoped that farmers and other primary producers working with the park will get fair value for their produce and be protected from predatory middlemen besides providing direct and indirect employment for Mizo men and women especially in surrounding rural areas. He also said that the Park will contribute to the growth of technical knowledge and industry experience in food processing in the state.

The Mega Food Park at Village-Khamrang in Kolasib District, Mizoram is promoted by M/s Zoram Mega Food Park Pvt. Ltd. This is the first Mega Food Park operationalized in the State of Mizoram. It has been set up in 55.00 acres of land at a project cost of Rs. 75.20 crore. The facilities created by the developer at Central Processing Centre (CPC) of this Mega Food Park include Cold Storage-1000MT, Drywarehouse-3000 MT, Aseptic pulp line with canning, aseptic and tetra packing-2 MT/Hr, Ripening Chambers-40MT/Hr, Spices drying facility-2MT/Hr, Food Testing Laboratory besides state of art enabling infrastructure. The Park also has a common Administrative building for office and other uses by the entrepreneurs. 3 Primary Processing Centres (PPCs) at Champhai, Thingfal and Thenzawl having facilities for primary processing and storage near the farms in the catchment area to benefit farmers have also been set up. This Mega Food Park will benefit the people of Kolasib-District as well as nearby Districts of Mamit and Aizawl of Mizoram and nearby districts of Hailakandi, Cachar of Assam.

Under the Mega Food Park Scheme, the Government of India provides financial assistance upto Rs. 50.00 Crore per Mega Food Park project. Presently, 18 Mega Food Park Projects are under implementation in various states and 19 Mega Food Parks have already become functional in the States. 6 of them are in the North eastern region. 2 MFPs in North eastern Region are operational at Assam and Mizoram.