Process for progress

• Vijayanagar: Units for groundnut processing, roasted gram, peanut chikki, tamarind pulp, and seedless tamarind blocks (processing 200 kg/hr of peanuts and 100 kg/hr of tamarind).
• Ballari: Chilli powder and chilli flakes units (250 kg/hr).
• Koppal: Fruit pulp, juice, and amchur powder production units (500 kg/hr).
• Raichur: Chilla premix, gram dal, and toor dal mill (350 kg/hr).
• Yadgir: Peanut butter, roasted gram, and groundnut oil units (300 kg/hr).
• Kalaburagi: Millets-based flakes, pops, flour, and whole millet products (500 kg/hr).
• Bidar: Soybean tofu and soy milk production units (300 kg/hr)

In a significant step to strengthen rural livelihoods and empower farmers, Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Farmers’ Training and Common Facility Centre for Agro Processing (FT-CFC) at Methagal village, Koppal, Karnataka, on Wednesday. The facility, the first of its kind in the Kalyana Karnataka region, is designed to promote value addition, reduce post-harvest losses, and generate sustainable income for farmers.

The project, with a total cost of Rs5.5 crore, is funded through the MPLAD scheme, in collaboration with the Government of India and NABARD. The center is expected to generate Rs12.58 crore annually.

During the inauguration, the minister flagged off the first consignment of dry ginger powder from the Fruit Processing Centre and interacted with Farmer-Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Self-Help Groups (SHGs), showcasing locally processed products.

Sitharaman highlighted the government’s vision of transforming farmers into agripreneurs by providing training, promoting processing and branding, and facilitating stronger market linkages. She emphasised that the initiative would help farmers stabilise their income and improve living standards.

The centre, managed by Gavisiddeshwara Farmer Producer Company Limited, is equipped to process mango, papaya, guava, and ginger into juices, pulps, and powders, with annual capacities of 840 MT for mango and 600 MT each for papaya and guava.

In collaboration with Sahyadri Farms and UAS Raichur, farmers are trained in post-harvest management, processing, packaging, branding, and digital marketing.