Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reaffirmed that strengthening India’s domestic food processing capacity is essential for ensuring national security, enhancing rural prosperity, and building economic resilience.
Responding to a post by the Finance Minister’s Office on X, the Prime Minister wrote, “Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman highlights that strengthening domestic food processing capacity is a national security priority. The Minister underscores how initiatives aligned with the ‘One District, One Product’ vision are empowering farmers, generating local jobs and promoting rural self-reliance. Have a read!”
Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman highlights that strengthening domestic food processing capacity is a national security priority.
The Minister underscores how initiatives aligned with the ‘One District, One Product’ vision are empowering farmers, generating local jobs… https://t.co/Pic1EgfgJR
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) October 27, 2025
FM Sitharaman Highlights Karnataka’s Agro-Processing Success
In her detailed post, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman described how a revolution in agro-processing is transforming Karnataka’s arid districts like Raichur, Yadgir, and Koppal into vibrant centres of rural entrepreneurship.
She wrote that the experience reflects India’s immense potential, even amid an increasingly protectionist global trade environment.
The Finance Minister observed that targeted planning under the Aspirational Block Programme helps bridge local disparities by focusing on sub-district development.
She utilised her MPLADS funds to establish agro-processing facilities in rural Karnataka, directly creating opportunities for farmers.
Under the ‘Kalyana Sampada’ (Wealth of Kalyana) initiative, each district identified specific agri-products to develop into value-added commodities.
The initiative, aligned with the Prime Minister’s One District, One Product vision, extends the Make in India mission to the agricultural sector, empowering farmers to become entrepreneurs.
In each district, NABARD supported a Farmer-Producer Company (FPC) to operate food processing and training units.
These efforts have begun to transform local economies by enabling farmers to capture greater value from their produce.
Agro-Processing Units Driving Change
In Koppal, a new multi-fruit processing unit has been established — the first of its kind in the district. Despite cultivating thousands of hectares of mango, papaya, guava, and tomato, the area previously lacked facilities for value addition.
Moreover, the unit now produces mango juice, guava nectar, tomato puree, and dry mango powder, allowing farmers to earn more from their harvests.
Similarly, in Raichur, known for its large-scale pulse production, a processing unit converts red gram and Bengal gram into arhar dal, chana dal, and ready-to-cook chilla mixes.
Sitharaman also noted that this facility currently handles only about one per cent of the district’s total output, underlining the vast potential for expansion.
The Finance Minister emphasised that at least 50 such units are needed in Raichur alone to process half of the district’s dal production.
She described the initiative as a replicable model for Farmer-Producer Organisations (FPOs) and rural entrepreneurs nationwide.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Modi’s remarks underline the government’s broader strategy to make India’s food systems self-reliant, sustainable, and secure.
By combining innovation, local entrepreneurship, and targeted investment, the government also aims to transform agriculture into a driver of national strength and security.
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