Examine the constraints in India’s food processing sector and the role of the Mega Food Park and SAMPADA schemes in addressing them.

Introduction:

MoFPI's Annual Report 2023-24 records food processing at 7.7% of manufacturing GVA and 12.2% of agricultural GVA; the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), formerly SAMPADA, has been operational since 2017, anchoring backward-forward linkages. Yet perishable processing remains under 10%, betraying a structural gap between farm output and value addition.

Structural constraints:

Backward linkages are weak — fragmented holdings, poor aggregation, and FPO immaturity raise raw-material variability. Cold-chain capacity stands at ~8.4 lakh MT against an estimated 31 lakh MT demand. MSME formalisation lags, credit is costly, skilled labour for food technology is thin outside metros, and post-harvest losses for fruits and vegetables remain near 30%.

Role of Mega Food Parks and PMKSY:

24 Mega Food Parks (e.g., Patanjali, Srini Chittoor) are operational, alongside 320 integrated cold-chain projects under PMKSY. Operation Greens, expanded from TOP (tomato-onion-potato) to all fruits and vegetables in 2021, stabilises perishable prices. PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME), with a ₹10,000 crore outlay since 2020, anchors ODOP-linked clusters across districts.

Limits and convergence:

Many Food Parks operate below capacity due to anchor-unit gaps; cold-chain monitoring is patchy. The ₹10,900 crore PLI for food processing has yet to attract sufficient brand-led aggregation in millets and ready-to-eat segments, and the Amul cold-chain model has not been replicated outside dairy.

Way forward / Conclusion:

Converge PMKSY, PMFME, and ODOP through a single MoFPI dashboard; deploy CIPHET R&D for shelf-life extension; mandate FPO-anchored backward linkages in Mega Food Parks; raise processing share to 25% by 2030.