Maharashtra’s national award for outstanding performance under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme is a recognition of the sustained efforts of the state’s farmers, women, youth, self-help groups, farmer producer organisations, micro-entrepreneurs and the Agriculture Department, Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane said on Tuesday.
Bharane received the national award on behalf of Maharashtra from Union Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. Agriculture Department Director Vinaykumar Awate and PMFME State Lead Manager Amol Chidrawar were present on the occasion.
Over 31,000 food processing projects approved
Maharashtra has 31,956 approved food processing projects under the PMFME scheme. Women beneficiaries account for 17,941 projects, or 56 per cent of the total. The state has also approved 522 group projects and 75 common infrastructure projects.
The total value of individual, group and common infrastructure projects is approximately Rs 2,893 crore, Rs 36 crore and Rs 216 crore respectively. Subsidies have already been disbursed for 25,007 individual projects, 388 group projects and 25 common infrastructure projects.
The state has also recorded one of the country’s best performances in beneficiary training, with 47,544 beneficiaries completing training under the scheme.
Under the seed capital component, financial assistance of Rs 221.77 crore has been provided to 61,323 members of self-help groups. The scheme has helped promote processing, value addition, packaging, branding and market linkages for agricultural produce.
The approved projects are expected to generate around 2.64 lakh direct employment opportunities and 7.92 lakh man-days of indirect employment. They will also create processing capacity of around 17.79 lakh metric tonnes. The total cost of approved projects stands at approximately Rs 3,155 crore, with subsidies worth Rs 715 crore sanctioned under PMFME.
Seven Maharashtra districts among top performers
Bharane said seven districts from Maharashtra featured among the 10 best-performing districts in the country, reflecting the effective coordination between the Centre and the state and the collective efforts of various stakeholders.
He said the PMFME scheme had provided significant momentum to emerging entrepreneurs in Maharashtra while strengthening micro-enterprises, rural employment and value addition of agricultural produce.
“Through this scheme, farmers, women, youth and entrepreneurs are getting new opportunities, thereby strengthening the rural economy,” Bharane said, adding that the government would continue efforts to make Maharashtra’s economy more dynamic and resilient through food processing and value addition.
Districts receive recognition
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Ahilyanagar districts were also honoured for their performance under the PMFME scheme. District Superintendents of Agriculture Deepak Gawali and Sudhakar Borale received the respective awards.
Maharashtra also secured national recognition for effective implementation of rural and urban livelihood missions. The state received awards in the large-state category for both the Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Mission and the State Urban Livelihood Mission.
Bharane said the national recognition was the result of sustained efforts by officials and employees of the Agriculture Department, banks, district administrations, district resource persons and field-level functionaries, under the guidance of the Agriculture Minister, Minister of State for Agriculture, Agriculture Department Secretary and Agriculture Commissioner.
District resource persons from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar were also honoured with first and second prizes for their performance. The Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Mission (MSRLM) and Maharashtra State Urban Livelihood Mission (SULM) were similarly recognised for their outstanding work.
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