Parliament Question: Promotion of Agricultural Clusters in Kerala

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6250 ANSWERED ON 02ND APRIL, 2026 PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL CLUSTERS IN KERALA

6250. SMT. PRIYANKA GANDHI VADRA

Will the Minister of FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken any initiatives to promote and support agricultural clusters in Kerala and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government has taken any action to strengthen the cold storage infrastructure especially for horticultural products like banana in Kerala, if so, the details thereof including projects sanctioned for the purpose; and

(c) whether the Government has sanctioned any projects to promote banana processing in Kerala including in Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SHRI RAVNEET SINGH)

(a): The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has been implementing a Scheme for Creation of Infrastructure for Agro Processing Clusters (APC), a component scheme of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) for development of modern infrastructure to encourage entrepreneurs to set up food processing units based on cluster approach in the country.

Under the scheme, grants-in-aid @ 35% of the eligible project cost is provided in General Areas and 50% of the eligible project cost in North Eastern States including Sikkim and difficult areas including Himalayan States (Himachal Pradesh, J&K & Uttarakhand), notified ITDP areas and Islands subject to a maximum of Rs.10.00 crore. The APC scheme is not sector specific. The scheme envisages for development of common basic enabling infrastructure and core infrastructure as per the requirement of food processing units. As on 31.12.2025, Ministry has approved 65 agro processing clusters in the country under the scheme. Out of 65, 2 agro processing clusters have been approved in the State of Kerala. The details of these 2 projects are provided in Annexure.

(b): Ministry of Food Processing Industries, under its schemes does not provide financial assistance for establishment of standalone cold storages facilities. However, it incentivizes creation of cold storage infrastructure as part of food processing projects under relevant component schemes of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY). As on 31.12.2025, Ministry has approved 54 number of projects under various component schemes of PMKSY in the State ofKerala, out of which 38 number of projects have been completed thereby creating 13 number of cold storages for various sectors (including fruits & vegetables sector) with capacity of 0.514 Lakh MT in the State of Kerala.

(c): The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has been implementing Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) with various component schemes for setting up of food processing projects (including banana processing) across the country (including Kerala).

The PMKSY scheme is a demand driven scheme under which applications are invited online from the potential investors / entrepreneurs against Expression of Interest (Eol) issued by the Ministry from time to time.

As on date, there is no approved project for banana processing in the State of Kerala under the component schemes of PMKSY. *****ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6250 ANSWERED ON 02ND APRIL 2026 “PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL CLUSTERS IN KERALA”

Details of two agro processing clusters approved in the State of Kerala:

Sr. Name of District State Date of Total No. the approval Grant Project Grant Project Approved cost (In released Status Execution (in ₹ ₹Crore) (in ₹ Agency Crore) Crore)

(PEA) 1 M/s Wayanad Kerala 03.10.2019 Chendayad Granites 29.50 9.8981 9.65064 Completed Private Limited 2 M/s Ernakulam Kerala 30.04.2020 Synthite Industries

42.222 9.0504 8.37561 Completed Private Limited *****