New Delhi: In a unique collaborative effort Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) and Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to organise to organise “National Organic Festival of Women Entrepreneurs”. The event will be planned and organized through NIFTEM, Kundli, Sonepat, Haryana which is an academic institution under the administrative control of Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India.
The festival aims to encourage Indian women entrepreneurs and farmers to connect with buyers and thus, empower them through financial inclusion, while also promoting organic food produce in India.
On its part, Ministry of Women and Child Development has agreed to transfer the funds for organizing the event by NIFTEM to the Vice Chancellor of the institute. The Vice Chancellor has agreed to organize the annual festival. The agreement calls upon the Vice Chancellor to provide Utilisation Certificate at the end of the financial year against the funds released by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
During the occasion Harsimrat Badal said the Mela will promote both organic produce and women entrepreneurs. She quipped that this was a classic case of two women (the Ministers) coming together to uplift other women, women who have traditionally been practicing food processing at household levels.
Speaking about the Mela, she mentioned that it will feature organic produce, processed food, fabric, cosmetics, pesticides and fungicides among many products. She added that the festival will strive to provide linkages to women producers to market and supply chain, thereby facilitating their financial inclusion. The Minister expressed hope that this MoU will start a new kind of agenda in India which is to promote healthy eating and organic eating.
Smriti Irani thanked Badal and said that under the current Government, effort has always been to ensure that Ministries converge their strengths to serve the people better. She added that this MoU is an effort to support the women who are in the business of organic farming and this step will benefit millions of women across the country.
The agreement was signed by Pushpa Subramanyam, Secretary, on behalf of Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Rabindra Panwar, Secretary, on behalf of Ministry of Women and Child Development. The event took place in the presence of Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister, MoFPI and Smriti Irani, Minister, MoWCD and senior officials of the two Ministries.
