India, Sept. 20 -- One morning in Amritsar, a small food entrepreneur packed a batch of popcorn for a journey far beyond Punjab. What began as a modest local enterprise had gradually acquired better equipment, improved packaging, formal systems and the confidence to approach international buyers. Its destination was Europe.

That journey captures Punjab's next food-processing opportunity: Moving beyond what the state produces to how much value it creates from that production. For decades, Punjab has been central to India's food-security story. Agriculture and allied activities contribute 24.5% of Punjab's Gross State Value Added ( GSVA), while agro-processing accounts for 34.5% of manufacturing Gross Value Added (GVA).

The state has lead...