Vidarbha’s long-acknowledged strengths in agriculture may soon translate into a national-scale agro-processing hub, if industry, academia, and development-sector leaders succeed in aligning infrastructure, technology, and market systems. This was the central message at a high-level panel featuring Dr. Atul Vaidya, Vice-Chancellor, Laxminarayan Innovation Technological University; Subhashini Dwivedi, Manager Operations – ITCMAARS, ITC Limited; Mridula Singh, Project Consultant, Digital Governance and MERL, Palladium India and Vikram Sheoran, Manager – ITC MAARS, ITC Limited.

Opening the discussion, Dr. Atul Vaidya underscored that Vidarbha has the fundamentals to become one of India’s most competitive agro-processing regions—but only if the value chain is treated as an integrated system rather than a series of fragmented interventions. “Agricultural processing is not a single activity—it is an end-to-end supply chain,” he said. “Production is only the beginning. What creates real value is processing, branding, and finally selling to the consumer. The profit is distributed across this chain, and unless Vidarbha integrates all components into one feasible, scalable model, it will continue to lose value to other states.” Vaidya emphasised VNIT’s role in supporting technological modernisation and fostering industry partnerships capable of driving a unified processing ecosystem.

Building on that foundation, Subhashini Dwivedi highlighted that the success of any agro-processing cluster depends on understanding the “foundations of the food-processing ecosystem”—infrastructure, markets, and compliance. According to her, even the most ambitious FPO-led ventures falter when these three pillars are weak or disconnected. “Processing cannot thrive in a vacuum,” she noted. “Cold chains, access to quality raw material, regulatory preparedness, and dependable markets determine whether a region graduates from low-value primary processing to consumer-ready product lines.”

Mridula Singh added a macro lens, noting that India is already the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables and a leading producer of pulses and spices, yet only 10 percent of its output is processed. Maharashtra alone contributes 13 percent to India’s food-processing GDP, but the gap between production and value addition remains immense. “The opportunities are large but under-tapped,” she said. Ramesh provided a structured framework that FPOs must internalize before entering processing: understanding why to process, when to process, where to process, what to process, and how to process. She stressed that FPOs should not rush into processing immediately after formation. Instead, they must first achieve operational stability, build input-supply capabilities, secure aggregation efficiency, and demonstrate managerial readiness.

“Processing should ideally begin once the FPO matures—when it has working capital, strong leadership, and proven market linkages,” Mridula explained, adding that viable business plans, demand-supply pilots, and a clear understanding of trade terms are essential prerequisites. In her view, the role of FPOs in sustainable food processing goes beyond economics: they help reduce post-harvest losses, strengthen collective bargaining, improve market access, generate rural employment, and stimulate long-term regional development.

Taking forward the discussion on the operational enablers, Mridula further outlined the compliance, infrastructure, and technology readiness needed across the three tiers of processing—primary, secondary, and tertiary. From basic FSSAI registration and state licensing to GMP/GHP norms, central licensing, labelling frameworks, and allergen declarations, she described compliance as the invisible backbone that determines whether small-scale units can sell into high-value markets. She identified key infrastructure elements for small processing units, including essential equipment suites, low-cost technology options, and efficient storage and packaging systems.

Mridula also explained the financial architecture available to emerging processors, highlighting support from schemes such as MSAMB’s matching grants of up to 60 percent of project cost and Department of Agriculture subsidies covering 30 percent of civil works and machinery. She and her team, presented a case study of a strawberry-processing FPO in Maharashtra that aggregated and sold 150 metric tonnes of strawberries worth Rs 75 lakh, successfully completing nearly 40 percent of its loan repayment, demonstrating the viability of well-designed collective processing models.

Concluding the panel, Vikram Sheoran emphasised that economies of scale, digital transparency, and value addition are the primary levers through which farmers can substantially improve incomes. “When farmers form FPOs, they gain access to extension services, credit support, precision-agriculture tools, and improved price realization,” he said. Sheoran explained ITC’s MAARS platform as a “phygital” system integrator—one that blends advanced technology with hyperlocal support services. Through MAARS, farmers receive digital crop advisory, access to an e-platform for agri-inputs, an e-marketplace for outputs, and a suite of rural services designed to improve both productivity and market efficiency. He emphasized that an ideal FPO network spans at least 10 villages within a radius of 5–10 kilometers, allowing for efficient procurement and logistics. Technology, he argued, is now central to price discovery and trust-building.

“When farmers can see the mandi price and the FPO price in real time, transparency becomes a default,” Sheoran said. Digital quality evaluation tools further standardize procurement, and ITC ensures that every FPO undergoes quality-testing training at least three times at an ITC center before each crop season—an intervention that has significantly reduced disputes and improved grading accuracy.

The conference converged on a single, urgent message: Vidarbha is sitting on a transformative agro-processing opportunity, but unlocking it requires systemic integration—of production, processing, technology, compliance, and markets. With strong academic institutions, emerging FPOs, supportive policies, and corporate platforms ready to scale, Vidarbha could soon evolve from a raw-material contributor into a high-value processing hub powering Maharashtra’s food economy.

— Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhury@agrospectrumindia.com)