Union Minister lays fundation stone for Mega Food Park at Alappuzha and Palakkad, Kerala

 TNPSC Current Affairs June 2017

Union Minister of Food Processing Lays Foundation Stone for Mega Food Park  one is developed by Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) at Palakkad and other by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) at Alappuzha

Importance of Food Park:

• The main objective of the scheme is to improving the entire food supply chain.
• It will create three schemes like Creation, Expansion of Food processing and Preservation Capacities, New Agro-Processing Clusters and Backward and Forward Linkages are on anvil.
• Scheme is also to bring down post-harvest losses preferably to zero level, provide quality food to consumers at cheaper price and for doubling of farmers' income  by boosting Food processing sector.
• To improve Food Processing sector the union Government has  sanctioned 42 mega food parks and 234 cold chain projects with 139 lakh tonnes of preserving and processing capacity of agro-produce worth Rs 35,000 crore. 
• This Food Parks will prevent ,  post harvest losses estimated as 90,000 crore annually.