Guwahati: Food processing business could greatly contribute to the economy of North Eastern Region, an unison voice came among the industry leaders at the North East Food Processor's Meet with organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in association with the Ministry of Food Processing, Government of India in Guwahati today.

Speaking at the conference meet, Sazzad Alam, ACS, Joint Secretary to the Govt of Assam, Industries, Commerce & Public Enterprise Department and State Nodal Officer for PMFME, stated that programmes like Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) have been a huge boon for states like Assam.

He said that the state's economy might be greatly improved by the food processing business.

Assam is now rated 13th in the nation for executing the programme, and there is still more work to be done, he added.

"We are attempting to establish direct links between FPOs and industry bodies and further aiming to turn the SHGs into entrepreneurs to make greater use of their experiences," added Alam.

According to Sazzad Alam, PMFME, a project started by the prime minister, is a ground-breaking programme.

"We have always made efforts to ensure that plans are effectively implemented throughout the state. In addition, we worked with the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) and IIT Guwahati. In general, this industry has four verticals. From p roducing crops organically enables superior food processing, storage facilities, packaging, marketing, and branding.

Furthermore, a thorough examination of the interaction with banks has been done. Entrepreneurs in this industry stand to gain greatly. According to Sazzad, people might take out several loans depending on their business plans.

NABARD is steadfastly devoted to turning the FPOs into the major processors in the state, according to Nabin Kumar Roy, General Manager of NABARD in Guwahati, Assam, who was also present during the session. Being a part of several communities, Nabard's mission is to coordinate activities while providing infrastructural and financial assistance. So far, Nabard has assisted 100 FPOs.

Dr. Jyothirmayi T, Senior Principal Scientist, Resource Centre-Hyderabad, Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), stated that only value addition will benefit farmers and that her organisation has created more than 8000 technologies to do so. They are also assisting the entrepreneurs in creating the Detailed Project Reports.

Khagendra Sarmah, Dy Director, Horticulture & food Process, Govt of Assam spoke on the value addition in fodd processing sector of the state. In order to support local manufacturers and improve export promotion, they also intend to introduce cluster level initiatives.

According to Pradeep Kumar Nath, Deputy General Manager of SIDBI in Guwahati, SIDBI further provides finance to other banks for projects focused on food processing.

Business Development Manager for APEDA, Dr. Saju Adhikary, provided prospective exporters with advice and a thorough overview of the food products export market.

Various segments of the food processing industry, including top government officials, the business community, entrepreneurs, etc., participated in the programme.

Spices Board India's Deputy Director, Dr. Dwijendra Mohan Barman, focused on the local spice industry, Six NE spices, according to him, have so far received GI tags. He continues by saying that the finest lakadong turmeric is found in Jaintia Hills.

Madhuparna Bhowmick, Director, Indian Chamber of Commerce, stated to business-northeast that the primary goal of the NorthEast Food Processors Meet was to raise awareness among MSMEs and FPOs about the many programmes available in this industry, with a specific focus on the PMFME scheme for micro size units. The NE region will benefit greatly from this PMFME programme.
She continues by saying that the government's CFTRI is a well-known organisation that is affiliated with the ICC.

The objective of this project was to bridge the communication gap between financial institutions and business-related industries.

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