Representatives of governments, businesses, development agencies, and research institutions gathered in Ahmedabad on 9 June for a regional policy dialogue on food processing and agricultural value chains under the joint initiative of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) and SAPLING, led by the World Bank Group.

The dialogue themed "Unlocking Value: Promoting Food Processing for Job Creation and Sustainable Development in South Asia" was attended by nearly 200 delegates from South Asian nations, as stated by MoFPI.

According to statistics shared at the event, South Asia’s agricultural sector is worth more than $700 billion per year, employs almost 43% of the labor force, and accounts for up to 16% of South Asia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Food losses, storage, processing, logistics, and marketing issues were addressed at the dialogue. According to the figures shared at the dialogue, more than 30% of the annual food production in South Asia goes to waste.

Discussion was held on various topics relating to food processing, storage, logistics, transport, marketing, and agricultural value chains.

From data presented in the forum, the production of food grains in India rose from 51 million tonnes in 1950-51 to above 330 million tonnes. Processed food exports from India also rose from about $4.9 billion to above $10 billion over the last decade.

According to the Ministry, the food processing industry contributes about 9% of manufacturing value added and close to 13% of total Indian exports.

Some government initiatives that were mentioned include Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Food Processing Industries.

Some other items that were discussed in the session include cold storage facilities, warehousing, logistics, food processing clusters, and agricomplexes.

The forum also included discussions about the World Bank Group's AgriConnect and South Asian Policy Leadership for Improved Nutrition and Growth (SAPLING).

The Forum will run until 10 June.