Guwahati: Nagaland has asked centre to make policies that are suitable for the small and hilly states. This was stated by Mr. Y Kikheto Sema, Agriculture Production Commissioner, Department of Agriculture, Government of Nagaland at the North East Food Processor’s Meet organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce which was held today in Kohima.

He said Nagaland has many unique products like King Chilly, Naga Cucumber, Pineapple, Ginger, Turmeric, etc, and making value-added products out of them and marketing them worldwide is a big opportunity for the young entrepreneurs.

He also said that the cultivation system in Nagaland is unique and needs to be studied properly. Mr. Sema also urged the Union government to make policies that are suitable for the small and hilly states like Nagaland.

"The government of Nagaland has come up with 12 automatic soil testing laboratories to help the farmers," he said.

Indian Chamber of Commerce along with the Ministry of Food Processing, the Government of India organized a day-long program on Food Processing potentials in the state of Nagaland today. The primary objective of the Meet is to discuss the scope for food processing in Nagaland.

The idea is to seek opportunities for increasing the export of value added Agri products from the state to prime export destinations like Dubai, Singapore, Bangladesh, and the European Union market, where there exists a high demand for processed food products.
He also cited the example of many successful entrepreneurs who have succeeded in their efforts.

Mr. Subham Tayal of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Govt of India gave a presentation on the various schemes of the ministry which are suitable for the hilly states like Nagaland. Mr. Tayal stated that the Food processing industry of India is one of the biggest in the world and the small states of the North Eastern Region can also contribute to this growth story.

Ms. Adit Sharma, Assistant Manager, Invest India gave a presentation on the initiatives taken by Invest India to bring outside investors to the North Eastern states.

Dr. Khan Chand, Associate Professor, Nagaland University talked about the engineering part of Food processing Dr. Khan informed that the Nagaland University along with the Industries Department, Government of Nagaland is starting an Incubation cum Common facility center.

Mr. Nitin Kumar, Assistance Professor (Department of Food Engineering), National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) gave a presentation on the cost-efficient technologies that are suitable for small entrepreneurs.

He also said that his organisation NIFTEM has many of these technologies and offered to give them to aspiring entrepreneurs.

The programme also had a dedicated session on Government and banking schemes and a Round Table Session along with a Business meet and an Investor meet between the various banks like NABARD, State Bank of India, HDFC etc and the entrepreneurs and FPOs from Nagaland.