Indore: Results of Magnificent Madhya Pradesh (MMP), the investor meet held on October 18 has started yielding results. Of the total proposals submitted by industrialists in the food processing sector, 25 per cent have expressed keen interest in setting up their units in the Indore division, said Prabhanshu Kamal, Agricultural Production Commissioner, at a division-level review meeting held in the city recently.
Kamal said the state government had made food processing as the focus sector of the State and farmers too should give emphasis on horticultural crops and dairy products along with traditional farming as it has been seen that diary business has the potential to give four times the return on investment.
On this occasion, Additional Chief Secretary Animal Husbandry Department Manoj Shrivastava said that the importance of animal husbandry should be explained to the farmers by running a special campaign in the state. Animal husbandry provides four times more benefits than crop production. There is a wide scope of expansion of cow, buffalo, and goat and poultry business in the state. The state government is making special efforts in this direction. The state government will provide better facilities for the treatment of animals.
The dairy industry has a huge contribution to per capita income in the state. Milk production in the state has registered an increase of 8.12 per cent every year. Madhya Pradesh ranks sixth in milk production in the country.
Kamal said to make agriculture a profitable business, farmers will have to give special emphasis on the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, spices and flowers and dairy industry. Kamal pointed out that even the government provides loans but due to lack of awareness, farmers are still sticking to traditional agriculture.
Kamal said that special attention needs to be paid to cash crops with special emphasis on the cultivation of banana, sugarcane, chilli, cotton, papaya, mango, groundnut etc.
Kamal said given the increasing population and falling groundwater level, the State and Central Government are emphasizing on drip and sprinkler irrigation system. Seminars should be organized every year in every district for the widespread dissemination of drip and sprinkler irrigation. In every district of Indore division, at least five cold storages should be opened in each district, which will help farmers to conserve fruits and vegetables, potatoes and onions.
