West Bengal to expand maize cultivation by 60,000 hectares to meet rising feed demand
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The West Bengal government has decided to expand the area under maize cultivation by 60,000 hectares over the next three years to meet the growing demand for animal feed, poultry feed, and fish feed in the state. This was announced by Arup Roy, the state minister in charge of the Department of Food Processing Industries and Horticulture at the Agri, Livestock and Food Processing Growth Meet organised by ASSOCHAM.'Area under maize cultivation will be expanded by 60,000 hectares over the next three years to meet the growing demand for animal feed, poultry feed, and fish feed in the state. Through cooperation between the government, private sector, educational institutions, and civil society, we can leverage each other's strengths and collectively address the challenges ahead. Women constitute 70% of the workforce engaged in agriculture, and encouraging women as agricultural entrepreneurs is a key step towards women's empowerment," he added.Highlighting West Bengal's potential in the sector, Smaraki Mahapatra, Secretary, Department of Food Processing Industries and Horticulture said, 'West Bengal is a top producer in many vegetables and fruits, producing about 163 lakh MT of vegetables while local consumption is about 95 lakh MT. Fruit production is about 40 lakh MT and consumption is about 30-35 lakh MT. The surpluses can be exported to other states and countries with investments in cold chain logistics and export development. The government is providing extensive support to tissue culture for banana, pineapple, blueberry and ginger, among others.''We are the only state which has the Himalayas and a coast, making it ideal for fruit and vegetable production. The government is working hard to support the sectors growth. There is a lot of scope for investment in value addition between the farm and the market. The state has a rich history of traditional medicinal plants and has huge potential for contribution in Ayurvedic treatments. In FY 24-25, 24,213 units in the food processing sector were set up in the state, which is not a small number. A partnership between the government, FPO's, farmers and entrepreneurs is needed to generate interest and uplift the sector to its potential,' she added.
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