Hyderabad: With the revolutionary changes in the field of agriculture in Telangana, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday asserted that there was unprecedented investment opportunities in the food processing sector in the State. He said the State government had already initiated efforts to set up special food processing zones across the State to tap investment potential.
Addressing a webinar on Food Processing sector hosted by Invest India, a national investment promotion and facilitation agency, the Minister said the State government embarked on ushering in a water revolution through construction of irrigation projects which created renewed opportunities for agriculture, dairy, meat and fish products in the future.
“This will attract huge investments in agriculture and processing sectors. The efforts to attract many investments from other sectors in the State is still going on successfully and the State has been way ahead of its counterparts,” he said, and assured all necessary assistance to the investors in the food processing sector.
Rama Rao said Telangana is at the top in Ease of Doing Business chart, simplifying procedures to set up industries in the State. The State has already attracted world-class companies in many sectors and several industry giants were keen on investing in the food processing sector in the State, he said, adding that Telangana was already reaping the fruits of irrigation projects, with farmers cultivating a wide variety of crops and agricultural products.
“Our fast-growing local economy, quality of infrastructure, competitive costs, dynamic policy, strategic location, logistics, and a proactive government sets us apart, evident from the fact that we have been a State of choice for major international companies across sectors,” he said.
The Minister pointed out that the State government was encouraging farmers to cultivate a variety of crops based on market demand rather than surviving on a single crop like paddy. He said the State government was equipped to facilitate contract farming and market-oriented cultivation on a large scale enabled by State government agencies. He explained that Telangana State was geographically located in the centre of the country to move agricultural produce or processed food products to other areas swiftly.
Rama Rao offered tailor-made incentives and hand-holding from the State government to companies investing in the food processing sector and interested in large scale procurement of agriculture and related commodities from the State. He felt that such companies can establish manufacturing facilities and also establish supply chain linkages including joint venture opportunities with local industry.
“We have huge pieces of land available in the existing industrial parks for setting up food processing units across the State. The government had already started establishing special industrial parks for the food processing sectors,” he added.
The session was attended by more than 200 prospective investors from across the globe looking for investment in manufacturing and marketing opportunities. The investors range from agriculture and food processing sectors including ready-to-eat foods, confectioneries, beverages, fruits, vegetables, dairy, poultry, meat, maize, flowers, and health-oriented cereals such as millets, quinoa and others.
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