6 food parks in Karnataka by next fiscal

To attract more investment, the Karnataka government will set up six new food parks at Hiriyur, Maddur, Jewargi, Belgaum, Malur and Bagalkot which are expected to become operational during fiscal 2006-07.

According to state industries, Karnataka finance and infrastructure minister P G R Sindhia, the government does not want to just focus on information technology to attract investment, but also focus on other sectors like agriculture and horticulture.

"There is an apprehension among some sections of people that the present coalition government is not doing enough to attract investment in areas other than IT and software. So, we want to prove them wrong by promoting agro-based industries in the state such as food processing units," he said.

Hence the government is now planning to strengthen its food processing sector. The state has identified the food processing sector as one of the focus sectors for investment, Sindhia said.

With its 10 agro-climatic zones and nine distinct soil types, Karnataka is an ideal place for growing virtually every kind of agricultural and horticulture produce.

The food parks are a joint venture with the state government's Food Karnataka Ltd, formed last year to set up food parks in the state. The state government will provide a grant of Rs 4 crore with an equal amount from the Centre for setting up the parks. The rest of the funds will be raised through share issues.

Already 100 acres of land have been identified at Jewargi for the purpose, where the park is being set up at an estimated cost of Rs 23.2 crore. Jewargi is a centre for pulses, cereals, oil seeds, fruits like grapes, lime, chilly, etc. The Bagalkot region grows lime, mango, grapes and pomegrantes. Malur is famous for vegetables and gherkins.

All the necessary infrastructure needed for the food processing industries will be provided at these parks and large businesses will be invited to set up their units. In addition, an 8 MW co-generation plant will be set up to meet the power needs.

Contract farming will also be encouraged in these food parks, with the companies supplying seeds to the farmers, and buying back their produce.

The present government, since assuming office in June 2004, cleared several projects involving an investment of Rs 290.60 crore in the agro food processing sector which can create 1,100 jobs. The total exports from the agriculture and processed food products from the state during 2004-05 (till June 2005) stood at Rs 362.41 crore.