Three entrepreneurs in the district will operationalise groundnut oil extraction units in the cold press method on January 4, which will help the local growers get a better price for their produce.
Kurnool district has been allocated onion processing units and Chittoor tomato processing under a scheme of the Food Processing Ministry.
Under the One District One Product Scheme, every district in Andhra Pradesh that has the highest sowing of horticulture or agriculture crop has been allocated financial support for a food processing unit funded by the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme.
Anantapur has become the first district in the State to ground the project sanctioned for it.
Horticulture assistant director G. Satish told The Hindu that his office had received 80 applications and of them 25 units were approved and bank finance linkage also provided under the PMFME scheme, that entitles the entrepreneur to 35% subsidy from the Food Processing Ministry, 55% bank loan, and he/she needs to invest 10% of the project cost. The maximum subsidy for a single unit has been, however, capped at ₹10 lakh.
The three entrepreneurs, at Akuthotapalli, Pamidi, and Gooty, have already procured the machinery, erected them, and are in the process of testing oil extraction. Entrepreneurs could set up chikki, peanut butter, roasted/masala peanuts making units as part of this scheme, said Mr. Satish.
At Akuthotapalli, J.N. Swamy Organic Agri Products has got a loan of ₹12.46 lakh for the screw type cold press oil extraction unit.
