This women-led food processing unit will boost sustainable farming
Kakani Govardhan Reddy, Minister for Agriculture & Cooperation, Marketing, Food Processing, Government of Andhra Pradesh, has inaugurated a secondary processing unit (SPU) set up by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)-Walmart in Mudulapuram village.
The unit creates new livelihoods and better market access opportunities through value-added groundnut, millet, and other nutritious products.
The SPU launched is approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and is expected to benefit over 6,000 smallholder farmers in Anantapur district. The facility which has a built-up area of 1,000 square meters, is operated by the women-led Rythu Nestham Food Producer Company Ltd (RNFPCL).
RNFPCL was established with support from ICRISAT and the Accion Fraterna Ecology Centre (AFEC) and includes farmers from nine FPOs across eight sub-districts (mandals) of Anantapur district. The facility is equipped with five processing lines, which will produce highly nutritious millet- and pulse-based ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat formulations such as traditional khichdi and upma mixes, high oleic groundnut products comprising of nutrition bars (chikki), cookies, snacks and savories, and healthy cold pressed groundnut oil.