Food processing will improve farmers condition- Harsimrat Badal

Jalandhar, 16 August: Today Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal reached Jalandhar to attend a departmental function. Addressing the gathering she said the development of food processing industry will improve the condition of farmers in the state. She said food processing industry will wipe out mediocre and farmers will get good price, farmers will have direct reach. Food grain will not get wasted and the quality of the grain will also remain maintained. She said right now there is only 10 percent processing of grain and 2 percent of fruits but in developed countries this ratio is 70 to 80 percent. Minister said her Ministry is going to spend 60 thousand crores on food processing projects. All the money is given to develop infrastructure for food processing and subsidies. She said 25 lakh farmers will get the benefit of this and one lakh crore crop will be processed. All the states of India are starting this farmer friendly scheme but sadly I have to say my state Punjab where I want to help farmers, there is no initiative to endorse this scheme that it could reach farmers in Punjab. She said that is why I am visiting different districts to make farmers aware of this scheme. She said all the work of her department is totally online and no one has to come again to get their work done and the amount of subsidy is paid with the establishment of the unit. On this occasion former Minister Ajit Singh Kohar welcomed Harsimrat. MLA Gurpratap Singh Wadala, Baldev Khaira, Sarabjit Singh Makkar, Gurbachan Singh Channi, Satpal Mal, BJP leader KD Bhandari and Ramesh Chander also welcomed her with bouquets and many other societies also greeted her.