The Hindu Business Line : Support system

The nodal agency of the food processing industry, the MAIDC has moved from simple mechanisation and agro-processing to facilitating investment in the sector.

WAY back in 1965, the government of India set up the Maharashtra Agro-Industries Development Corporation Ltd (MAIDC) with the aim of creating a nodal agency to support the food processing industry and help the manufacture and trading of agricultural inputs and implements.

Streamlining the system of input distribution and extension of agro-services to the farmers was the principal aim in setting up the MAIDC. Its main role is to manufacture and distribute agricultural machinery, inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides, and products pertaining to dairy and poultry. It also aims to develop agro-based industries to process agricultural products and to assist those in the field of agricultural and allied industries in modernising their farms and industries.

In the initial years, the MAIDC helped with simple mechanisation and agro-processing and later moved to facilitating investments in the agro-sector. It carries out its functions through a series of departments that deal with animal feed, fertilisers, pesticides, agricultural engineering and food processing.

Food processing is one of the thrust areas of the MAIDC. In that direction, it is setting up a food park in an industrial estate in Nagpur. The food park will have facilities such as cold storage, carton-packing, godowns, weigh bridge and food testing laboratory, among other things. Eighty plots have been created at the Orange City Food Park for entrepreneurs interested in food-processing ventures. Work on a 58.3-acre complex has been completed, and it is expected to be commissioned by March 2005. Partial facility of the food park has been already commissioned and the remaining facilities are ready for use. It is a joint effort between the MAIDC, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and the Union Ministry of Food Processing. The park is located in a region known for its fresh farm produce as well as the availability of skilled and unskilled labour.

Since 1970, the MAIDC has been selling cattle feed on a large scale. One of its major activities has been the manufacture and marketing of Maha Agro feed. The feed has been very successful with farmers and dairy owners, who say it promotes maximum milk yield with minimum expenditure. It provides cattle with a balanced diet and its composition has been arrived at scientifically.

The MAIDC officials say the Maha Agro increases the yield of milch animals and extends the lactation period to its maximum. Besides, it maintains fertility levels, ensuring that animals regularly come on heat.

The MAIDC has also been active in the fertiliser and pesticide market as well. It has a strong dealer and marketing network and has a share of 17-20 per cent in Maharashtra's fertiliser market. It also trades in complex fertilisers. Its pesticides sales in the State are around Rs 40 crore. However, its share in the all-India basket of pesticides is minuscule, at around 2 per cent.

The MAIDC also makes available tractors of 18 HP to 75 HP.

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