Tamil Nadu government is looking for potential investors to run the primary processing centres in two districts as part of the Supply Chain Management of fruits, vegetables and other perishables.
Participants at a meeting of investors on Thursday were informed that bids will be shortly called for from agro-based investors to run the processing centres in Krishnagiri and Coimbatore districts by procuring vegetables and fruits from farmers.
The investors will have to put the processing machinery in each centre to sort out, grade and process the fruits and vegetables. The meeting was addressed among others by Vikram Singh Gaur, joint secretary and advisor of NITI Aayog, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Tamil Nadu Agricultural Production Commissioner and principal secretary of agriculture department and SJ Chiru, Commissioner for agricultural marketing and agri business.
State government authorities explained the details of infrastructure facilities created in the project and the areas of support from the government. The ambitious Supply Chain Management of fruits, vegetables and other perishables is aimed at integrating farm producers with major market centres, processers, and consumers in order to provide complete supply chain management infrastructure and to reduce post-harvest losses and provide uninterrupted supply of quality produce to consumers round-the-year.
Although the project was planned to be implemented in 10 districts, Krishnagiri and Coimbatore were selected in the first phase. An MoU was signed with NITI Aayog in this regard.