What is Food Processing?
Food Processing includes process under which any raw product of agriculture, dairy, animal husbandry, meat, poultry or fishing is transformed through a process (involving employees, power, machines or money) in such a way that its original physical properties undergo a change and the transformed product has commercial value and is suitable for human and animal consumption.
It also includes the process of value addition to produce products through methods such as preservation, addition of food additives, drying etc. with a view to preserve food substances in an effective manner, enhance their shelf life and quality.
Significance
Employment Generation: It provides direct and indirect employment opportunities, because it acts as a bridge between Agriculture and Manufacturing.
Doubling of farmers’ income: With the rise in demand for agro-products there will be commensurate rise in the price paid to the farmer, thereby increasing the income.
Reduce malnutrition: Processed foods when fortified with vitamins and minerals can reduce the nutritional gap in the population.
Reduce food wastage: UN estimates that 40% of production is wasted. Similarly, NITI Aayog estimated annual post-harvest losses of close to Rs 90,000 crore. With greater thrust on proper sorting and grading close to the farm gate, and diverting extra produce to FPI, this wastage could also be reduced, leading to better price realisation for farmers.
Boosts Trade and Earns Foreign exchange: It is an important source of foreign exchange. For e.g. Indian Basmati rice is in great demand in Middle Eastern countries.
Curbing Migration: Food Processing being a labour intensive industry will provide localized employment opportunities and thus will reduce the push factor in source regions of migration.
Curbing Food Inflation: Processing increases the shelf life of the food thus keeping supplies in tune with the demand thereby controlling food-inflation. For e.g. Frozen Safal peas are available throughout the year.
Crop-diversification: Food processing will require different types of inputs thus creating an incentive for the farmer to grow and diversify crops.
Preserve the nutritive quality of food and prolongs the shelf life by preventing them from spoilage due to microbes and other spoilage agents,
Enhances the quality and taste of food thereby bringing more choices in food basket
Enhances consumer choices: Today, food processing allows food from other parts of the world to be transported to our local market and vice versa.
Status of Food Processing In India
India is the world’s second largest producer of fruits & vegetables after China but hardly 2% of the produce is processed.
In spite of a large production base, the level of processing is low (less than 10%). Approximately 2% of fruits and vegetables, 8% marine, 35% milk, 6% poultry are processed. Lack of adequate process able varieties continues to pose a significant challenge to this sector.
India’s livestock population is largest in the world with 50% of the world’s buffaloes and 20% of cattle.
More than 75% of the industry is in unorganized sector.
Processing can be delineated into primary and secondary processing. Rice, sugar, edible oil and flour mills are examples of primary processing. Secondary processing includes the processing of fruits and vegetables, dairy, bakery, chocolates and other items.
Food processing industry in India can be segmented as follows
Cereal/ pulse milling
Fruit & vegetable processing
Milk & milk products
Beverages like coffee, tea & cocoa
Fish, poultry, eggs & products
Meat & meat products
Aerated waters/soft drinks 8. Beer/alcoholic beverages
Bread, biscuits & other bakery products
Edible oil/fats.
Confectioneries
Breakfast cereals, malt protein, weaning, extruded food products
Problems in Food Processing Industries
At present most of the industries are in unorganized sectors. So, number of problems are arising from different sections of the industries. Some of the basic problems encountered by Indian food industries at different levels are given below.
Farm level problems
Poor yield of farm produce and therefore low returns.
Lack of material resources necessary for development.
Primitive methods of farming.
No control on the quality of inputs and lack of finance to manage.
Vagaries of weather.
Unavailability of reliable handling and transportation system.
Lack of storage facilities at farm. Inadequate cold storage faculties
Objectives of Draft National Food Processing Policy 2017
To reduce wastages, increase value addition, ensure better prices for farmers while ensuring availability of affordable and quality produce to consumers
To address the challenges of malnourishment and malnutrition by ensuring availability of nutritionally balanced foods
To make food processing more competitive and future ready through creation of adequate infrastructure facilities along the supply chain, use of modern technology and innovation, promoting traceability, food safety, encouraging optimum capacity utilization of assets and resources.
To position CG as the most preferred investment destination for the agribusiness and food processing.
To generate more opportunities for the development of the agribusiness and Food Processing Industry, and create employment.
Challenges
Extensive use of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals has raised concerns about the quality of food which should be looked into. Further, protection is needed from unfair and hazardous practices such adulteration.
Care should be taken as processed foods may not be nutritionally balanced and may pose a health risk especially for children unless fortified. This could trigger a negative perception regarding processed foods and could likely impact the economic gains made by this sector.
Low value-added in processing: There is major fragmentation of food processing capacity, with a large unorganized segment and widespread use of primitive processing. This results in lower value-addition at the processing stage, especially from a nutritional point of view.
Limited ability to control quality and safety: The sheer number of players, especially in the large unorganized segment, involved in the food value-chain, makes implementation of quality and safety norms difficult. This has led to practices such as milk adulteration and use of carbide for fruit ripening becoming more widespread.
Low consumer awareness: Consumer awareness is a critical aspect of an improved nutritional situation in the country. Consumers currently lack awareness of several nutritional and food safety and quality aspects.
Suggestions
Storage capacities and infrastructure should be increased.
Develop the agricultural facility with good agricultural practice which leads to the transition from staple food crops to diversification of crops.
Backward linkages to farmers need to be made more robust.
Public investment and connectivity should be increased.
Farm pattern diversification which leads to a production of variety of crops other than constant set of crops which creates lot of job opportunities.
We have to encourage the domestic start-ups and industry than the international companies.
There should be a Centre of Excellence between centre and state.
Should have more training institutes for upcoming entrepreneurs and it should be in all states. Scholarship should be given to the upcoming entrepreneurs.
New technology should be updated in the training institutes and skill development should be given the top most priority.
