Kohima: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Monday inaugurated a new Food Processing Centre at the State Industrial Area in Toluvi, Dimapur, and virtually launched three other facilities under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) 2024–25 scheme to boost rural entrepreneurship, strengthen market access for farmers and create jobs for youth. The additional centres are an Incubation Centre for Entrepreneurs and Infrastructure Development at the Industrial Growth Centre in Ganeshnagar (Chümoukedima), an Incubation Centre for Food Processing at Tuensang, and a Modern Aggregation Centre at Longnak in Mokokchung district.
Rio said small-scale industries-especially food processing-have strong potential to drive Nagaland’s economic growth and called the new centres important platforms for entrepreneurship and value addition in rural areas. He noted the projects align with the Government of India’s vision of building a “Viksit Bharat” and urged collective effort so the state can keep pace with the country’s development.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of transforming India into a developed nation by 2047, Rio said Nagaland must actively participate in the national growth process and create opportunities that benefit local communities directly. He added that once the centres are fully operational, farmers will gain from improved processing and marketing facilities, and the government plans to replicate similar projects across all districts.
Rio also said expanding processing infrastructure will help districts identify crops suited to local conditions and develop region‑specific facilities that could raise productivity and farmers’ incomes. He expressed confidence in the younger generation, encouraging youth to use the incubation and processing centres to blend innovation with traditional knowledge for sustainable development.
MLA and Industries and Commerce Advisor Hekani Jakhalu described the four centres as pilot projects developed after extensive planning and local potential assessment, and said the department aims to establish independent processing centres in every district by 2028. Jakhalu stressed that food processing is more than machinery-it requires building a complete value chain linking farmers, production units and markets.
Advisor for SCERT and Food Processing Achumbemo Kikon said the department will pursue a mission‑mode approach based on six pillars-production, processing, preservation, packaging, pricing and patenting-and warned that processing infrastructure alone will not succeed without strong agricultural production and stakeholder collaboration.
Original Source: https://nenews.in/nagaland/cm-neiphiu-rio-inaugurates-four-food-processing-incubation-centres-in-nagaland/53573/
Category: Nagaland,Food processing centres,Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio
Tags:
Publish Date: 2026-06-09 15:33:00
