Kolkata, Aug. 5 -- Dilip Ghosh, Minister-in-Charge of the state Department of Agricultural Marketing, called for strengthening food processing, post-harvest management and market linkages to enhance farmers' incomes.
He emphasised that West Bengal has immense agricultural potential and said the state must move beyond the sale of raw agricultural produce by promoting value addition through food processing of commodities such as potatoes, bananas, tomatoes and pineapples while addressing the Viksit East AgFoodTech Summit (VEATS) 2026, jointly organised by The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCC&I) and ThinkAg.
Ghosh stressed the need to strengthen storage, cold-chain infrastructure and efficient market linkages to reduce post-harvest losses, while advocating greater adoption of mechanisation, quality inputs, scientific farming and modern technologies.
He also urged better utilisation of existing government schemes and agricultural marketing infrastructure to support entrepreneurs, food processors and rural youth, stating that a stronger agriculture sector would generate employment, reduce migration and contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat.
Other dignitaries addressing the summit highlighted the importance of quality seeds, scientific crop protection, climate-resilient farming, technology-enabled agricultural advisory services and greater access to institutional finance to improve farm productivity and strengthen agricultural resilience.
The discussions reinforced the need for closer collaboration among industry, research institutions, financial organisations and policymakers to accelerate sustainable agricultural transformation across Eastern India. Mpost
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.