New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated a food park in Tumkur, Karnataka. The food park will procure the produce directly from farmers at collection centers.
While addressing the crowd at the Food Park, Narendra Modi said "The economy of a city or town improves when the purchasing power of a farmer improves."
Collection centers will be set up by the park in many places, where farmers can directly sell their produce, which would be then brought to the food park for storage or processing.
The Food Park is a project of the ministry of food processing and will get fully operational by December and by the next year, it is expected to generate 4000 jobs.
The warehousing capacity at the food park is over 25,000 tonnes.
Farmers will get the price according to market rates and it will be fixed by the promoter of the food park.
It is also expected to benefit farmers from the districts of Tumkur, Kolar, Shimoga, which are rich in millets, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits.
"Will the park buy my crops for a fair price? We never get what we deserve. We hope this food park will bring in more industry and generate employment for us," said a farmer.
The prime minister said the new government at the Centre is committed to taking the states along in the country's path to progress.
"The Centre has to understand states' concerns and problems, and the state and Centre have to implement central policies together," Modi said.
"If states are strong, then country will be strong and if the states progress, then the country will progress," he added.
Claiming that during the earlier regime, states were locked in political wars with the Centre, he said: "The Centre and the states have to work like a team. I will try and use India's federal structure in letter and spirit."
