Karnataka is set to make a push for the ‘One District, One Product’ (ODOP) scheme to promote the micro food processing industry in the state. This means one product from each district will be promoted in the state. The products in every district were chosen on the basis of their prevalence in the district and by considering the scope in the market for them.
The PMFME scheme seeks to promote micro food processing enterprises in unorganised sector. Within each district, selected enterprises will be given subsidies, access to bank loans, and training by the state government to market their products.
In Belagavi, the product selected for promotion is Jaggery. Belagavi is a major hub of jaggery production, Villages and towns in the Eastern and Western parts of Belagavi – Balekundri, Mutga, Modaga, Sulebhavi and Kallehol, Ambewadi are areas where we can still find the Jaggery Making Units. Especially the Eastern villages house a substantial number of such units. The raw material is the sugarcane, which is found in plenty in these areas.
Other than Belagavi district, the products that are selected from other districts are : Bengaluru rural (Bakery Products) Chikkamagaluru (spices), Udupi (Seafood), Dakshin Kannada (Marine products), Shivamogga (Pineapples) district. Kalaburagi (red gram), Mandya (jaggery), Vijayapura (lemon), Haveri (mango), Gadag (Byadagi chillies), Bidar (ginger), Ballari (fig), Mysuru (bananas), and Koppal (guava). Etc
Under the scheme, the Centre will invest 60% of the expense while the state will take care of the rest 40%. The project will be implemented at a cost of Rs 493 crore over the next five years, with a target of reaching out to 10,784 enterprises.