Industry stakeholders suggest urgent intervention
Panaji : Despite the Union government’s push to bolster food processing infrastructure via the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), Goa remains a stark outlier in the national landscape.
Data tabled in the Lok Sabha reveals that as of December 31, 2025, Goa has received zero approvals for mega food parks or cold chain projects. This total absence of key infrastructure places Goa in a marginal group alongside Delhi, Chandigarh and Ladakh, highlighting a significant policy gap and a lack of integrated agri-infrastructure compared to states like Maharashtra, which leads with three mega food parks and 77 cold chain projects and over Rs 558 crore in grants.
Mega food parks act as hubs for processing, storage, logistics and export facilitation, while cold chain projects ensure temperature-controlled supply chains for perishables. Nationally, 41 mega food parks have been approved with Rs 1,515.58 crore in grants, while 402 cold chain projects have received Rs 2,495.53 crore.
The stagnation in Goa is particularly critical given the state’s reliance on fisheries, horticulture and cashew processing. Because PMKSY is a demand-driven scheme, the lack of central funding reflects a failure in state-level policy prioritisation and a deficiency in viable project proposals.
While the state aims to diversify its economy beyond tourism, the current lack of temperature-controlled supply chains and processing hubs ensures that post-harvest losses remain high.
Value-addition opportunities – and the subsequent boost to rural employment and farmer income – remain largely unrealised.
Goa’s participation in central schemes appears minimal, with only two minor projects operational in categories like food testing. This trend of missed opportunities is exemplified by the failed 2010-11 proposal for a food park on the Quitol-Naqueri plateau.
Despite the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) acquiring 12 lakh square metres of land for the project over a decade ago, the initiative was abandoned even after the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries invited expressions of interest. The land remains unutilised, serving as a physical reminder of the state’s inability to capitalise on federal support.
Industry stakeholders have emphasised that without urgent intervention, Goa will struggle to compete with larger states that have secured substantial investments. To bridge this gap, the state must shift its policy focus toward aggressively pursuing central assistance, particularly for its marine, fruit and spice value chains, the stakeholders said.
Unless the state government takes corrective steps, Goa risks remaining on the fringes of India’s expanding food processing sector, unable to translate its natural advantages into a scalable, industrial reality.
