The State Agriculture Minister Subodh Uniyal said that the entrepreneurs have shown keen interest in the horticulture and agriculture sector in course of Investors Summit-2018 which would help the Government fulfil the objective of doubling the income of the farmers.
He said that memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth Rs 22,000 crore has been inked in the horticulture sector while MoUs to the tune of Rs 4834 crore has been signed in the agriculture sector during the summit.
The Minister, further, said while talking to the media persons on the sidelines of the second and the last day of the Investors Summit on Monday that investors have committed to invest Rs 1325 crore through the MoUs in setting up aroma industry in the State.
He claimed that Uttarakhand is the first State in the country to have an aroma policy. The Minister informed that Rasna Industries has signed a MoU worth Rs 500 crore with the State Government during the summit.
He said that the State Government is committed to provide infrastructural support to the food processing industry and as part of this endeavour, 22 cold chains have been set up in the State over the past four years. He, further, claimed that 15 cold chains have been set up in the last one and half years alone, something which he termed as an achievement on the part of the ministry under him.
Claiming that Udham Singh Nagar is holding the number one position in country’s in food processing sector, he said that the State Government has decided to set up the first food processing cluster in a mountainous part of State. This cluster would be set up at Notha village near Kempty Fall in Tehri district, he added.
Giving further details, Uniyal said that this new cluster would consist of four units and they would provide employment to over 500 people.
Stressing on the importance of organic agriculture, the Minister said that the State Government has decided to raise the area under organic agriculture from the existing 1 lakh hectares to 3 lakh hectares in the next one year and to further raise it to 5 lakh hectares in two years.
He said that the State Government is promoting cluster-based farming so that the farmers can enjoy support of new technology and market. Uniyal said that the Government is planning to encourage vegetable clusters in the villages located in the vicinity of cities while the cultivation of flowers would be encouraged in the villages located near the Char Dhams.