04 February 2025 : Daily Answer Writing
Q1) Examine the potential of the food processing sector in doubling farmer’s income, boosting agricultural development and increasing consumer choices.(150Words/10 Marks)
Answer:
The food processing sector converts raw food materials from d materials of agriculture, animal husbandry or fisheries into edible products with higher commercial value.
Potential of food processing sector in doubling farmer’s income:
1. Offers a sustainable source of economic returns for increasing farmers’ income, especially as demand for processed food is projected to increase due to factors such as urbanization, increasing role of women in economy and global supply chains
2. Enhancing Incomes:
a. value-addition by Food Processing Industries (FPIs) allows farmers to sell processed goods at higher prices;
b. create infrastructure that increases shelf-life of products, thereby reducing wastage and ensuring a more stable income;
c. companies source directly from farmers, eliminating intermediaries and ensuring better prices;
d. sector has the potential to create 9 million jobs [MoFPI] + contributes about 9% and 11% to employment in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors, respectively [NSSO];
e. FPIs create export potential, leading to enhanced incomes [e.g., Basmati Rice].
3. Development of Agri Sector:
a. Mega food parks – aimed at establishing a “direct linkage from farm to processing and then to consumer markets” through a network of collection centres (CC) and primary processing centres (PPCs)
b. introduce modern agricultural practices and technologies to meet efficiency + quality standards;
c. encourage farmers to diversify produce reducing dependency on traditional crops + promoting sustainability;
d. attract significant FDI and domestic investment into agri sector;
Various Obstacles for Food Processing Sector:
1. Supply-side issues: Lack of uninterrupted supply, and uniform quality of raw materials negatively affects the quality and standard of processed food products.
2. Logistical constraints: Lack of end-to-end cold chain, slow transportation and lack of adequate network of retail supermarkets limit the up scaling of FPI in India.
3. Low value-addition: (a) FPI is largely dominated by MSMEs which have not sufficiently invested in sophisticated processing or R&D; (b) sector is dominated by low-value addition processes and low shelf-life packaging.
4. Quality and Safety Issues: low consumer awareness and insufficient regulation keeps the reputation of processed food sub-par from the point of view of safety and quality. Issues such as high MSG and lead content in Maggi harmed consumer trust.
5. Cultural Preferences: there is a cultural preference for fresh food and produce over stored and canned food such as vegetables, meat or fish.
For more such UPSC related Mains Answer Writing, Check Out –03 February 2025 : Daily Answer Writing
