The Kerala Department of Industries has initiated measures to provide the much-needed leg up to the food processing industry in the state.
Industries Minister Elamaram Karim said the state was set for a major leap in the food processing space. In line with the plans, the department inaugurated its latest food processing incubation centre at Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation’s (Kinfra) Food Processing Park at Kakkanchery near University of Calicut.
According to KN Srikumar, senior media advisor, Kinfra, the incubation centre is a product development unit that will be utilised to test ideas and products of investors and entrepreneurs. Investors will be allowed to test-market their products, provide feedback to the incubation centre for improvement and thus standardise these products. When the products are standardised, the investor will be able to set up their own units, he said.
As part of the new incubation unit at Kakkanchery, a water supply scheme that will ensure purified water supply at the park brought from the Chaliyar River has also gone on stream. Besides, Kitchen Outsource India Pvt Ltd (KOIPL) has been given the charge of the incubation centre. KOIPL will run, operate and manage the facility set up at the Kinfra building. Kinfra has provided all the equipment at the incubation centre, Srikumar said. Apart from running the show, KOIPL is also expected to provide counselling, training and other such resources. The Defence Food Research Laboratory will be providing technical support to the centre.
The industries department, is also lining up more such initiatives to provide a fillip to the food processing sector in the state. Another food processing plant is likely to come up at Adoor. Besides this unit, work has already begun at the 320-acre food processing unit being set up at Wayanad with central assistance. Kinfra, in the meanwhile, is planning to take over 4,000 acres of land in the state to boost industrial growth.