File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
110 acres, 22,000-tonne storage capacity, 30 food processing companies and an investment of Rs 1000 crores - the mega food park in Karnataka's Tumkur is all set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 24.
The park - a project of the ministry of food processing - is to get fully operational by December and by the next year, it is expected to generate 4000 jobs.
It is also expected to benefit farmers from the districts of Tumkur, Kolar, Shimoga, which are rich in millets, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits.
The park is to be home for many food processing firms - mostly ready to eat and cook product companies - and work through a single window system.
"Packaged foods have become part of daily meal but only 2 to 3 per cent of our country's produce is processed. The time has come now for such a park with state-of-the-art infrastructure," said Mr Praveen Dwivedi, CEO of India Food Park, Future Group.
But farmers are not too sure that the park would be of help.
"Will the park buy my crops for a fair price? We never get what we deserve. We hope this food park will bring in more industry and generate employment for us," said Siddalingaiah, a small farmer.
Farmers will get the price according to market rates and it will be fixed by the promoter of the food park.
Collection centers will be set up by the park in many places, where farmers can directly sell their produce, which would be then brought to the food park for storage or processing.