New Delhi, Aug 31 (KNN) Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries today launched Common Food Processing Incubation Center for Shallots (Small Onions) in Chettikulam village in Perambalur District of Tamil Nadu through video conferencing from the national capital.

Speaking on the occasion Badal said farmers in Perambalur District are producing 70000 tons of shallots per year in a cultivation area of 8000 hectares, in spite of the increasing difficulty in cultivation due to increase in prices of inputs, unpredictable weather, disease outbreak and not getting adequate prices in the market.

This Central Processing Center for Shallots in Perambalur will ensure that no shallots are getting wasted, increase farmers' income and also ensure availability of shallots to consumers. This Onion processing technology should be taken to all parts of India, she added.

C. Anandharamakrishnan, Director, Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology said that his Institute has decided to take one crop per year and develop processing technologies and related infrastructure for that crop.

In this regard Mission Banana was implemented in the previous year and this year it is Mission Onion. Central Food Processing Center for Shallots in Chettikulam, Perambalur District is part of the Mission Onion in improving the lives of Onion farmers in this area.

This center will help farmers’ to double their income through value addition. This center will process Shallots and produce 4 Shallot products viz. Fresh Shallot, Peeled Shallot, Onion Powder, Onion Paste, Onion Flakes.

He also said that IIFPT is working on Mission Coconut which will be launched next year on World Coconut Day (2nd September 2018).