Meghalaya has immense potential in the food processing sector as its base economy is agrarian, state governor Tathagata Roy said on Tuesday.
Addressing a one-day conference on ‘Start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Food Processing’ organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industries of India in collaboration with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Roy said such a kind of platform would help all the stakeholders to share their views and enhance their knowledge .
He also said that the state is bestowed with abundant natural resources and these need to be tapped for the development of the State which, in turn, will create a lot of employment opportunities for the youth.
The Governor said that besides the major food crops like rice and maize, Meghalaya is also renowned for production of horticultural food crops like orange and lemon.
Roy also added that apart from agricultural produce, meat processing can also be taken up in a big way in the state which can put Meghalaya among the top processors of meat products, reports Business Standard.
He also suggested that value addition by simple processing techniques would help in the increase of income of the farmers of the state.
He added that such conferences will bring out innovative idea and the platform will act as an exposure to the budding entrepreneurs and they can get linkages to the market
Roy said that hand there are technology providers, innovators and financial institutions that are looking for buyers of their technologies and financial services and creating a platform where food MSMEs, technology providers, banks, government officials can be brought together is necessary as it can help in the growth of food processing units of Meghalaya.
Welcoming the dignitaries Dr Narendra Prakash, Director, ICAR RC for NEH Region said that the state one of the fastest growing in terms of agricultural hence the opportunity should be tapped for agri-business.
Prakash said that the state has immense scope and the youths should make the most out of it and taking part in the workshop would help them generate ideas which they would be able to implement in their respective fields.
