UP deputy CM stresses on farm produce protection

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister and minister for rural development Keshav Prasad Maurya said it was the duty of the state government to protect each and every farmer’s produce so that it did not go waste in the absence of cold chain availability.

Agra Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister and minister for rural development Keshav Prasad Maurya on Wednesday stressed on minimizing the wastage of farmers’ produce in the absence of cold chain. He assured to improve the food processing policy of the state government by introducing a single window system.

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister and minister for rural development Keshav Prasad Maurya in Agra. (HT)

Maurya, who was here to attend the closing session of the national seminar of cold storage industry, invited the delegation of Federation of Cold Storage Association to visit Lucknow for discussion on change in policy which might help both farmers and cold storage owners.

Speaking as chief guest, Maurya said it was the duty of the state government to protect each and every farmer’s produce so that it did not go waste in the absence of cold chain availability. For this, the deputy chief minister suggested improvement in food processing policy with single window system that would benefit the farmers and in turn help the nation’s economy.

“We have to make our food processing policy more broad-based so that more and more industrialists, farmers and consumers can get the benefits. The cold storage owners should come forward to have a mechanism at Gram Sabha level to ensure protection of farm produce. It is a matter of concern that farm produce worth a lot is damaged because of absence of cold chain and processing,” said Maurya.

Chairman of Federation of Cold Storage Association of India, Rajesh Goyal and National coordinator Arvind Agarwal handed over a six-point charter of demands to the deputy chief minister.

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