Odisha has secured commitments exceeding Rs 43,000 crore from 27 companies to develop its food processing sector, signalling a strategic shift towards value-added agriculture and economic expansion beyond mining.
Odisha has drawn investment commitments worth Rs 41,748 crore from 27 companies in food processing, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Friday, as the eastern state stepped up efforts to broaden an economy long dominated by mining and minerals.
At an investors’ meeting organised by the state government with industry body Assocham, companies signed memorandums of understanding in what officials described as a major push into food and agro processing. Later, the Odisha government said the signed agreements had been revised to Rs 41,748 crore, with a further Rs 1,689 crore proposed through 12 investment intent forms, taking first-day proposals to Rs 43,437 crore and potentially supporting 43,316 jobs.
Majhi said the food processing push was part of a wider plan to diversify Odisha’s industrial base into four key sectors. He said the state was aiming to strengthen links between farm output and industrial value addition, with a policy framework already in place to encourage investors across all districts. The chief minister added that Odisha was working to improve business processes and ranked among the top five states in Niti Aayog’s investment-friendliness index, according to the state’s own assessment.
The government’s next phase, Majhi said, will focus on expanding the range of crops and products being processed, building cold chain and warehousing capacity, improving food testing and certification, and connecting MSMEs, cooperatives and women’s self-help groups with larger companies. Industries Minister Sampad Chandra Swain said the state had significant untapped potential in the sector and promised smooth project execution.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg said Odisha is seeking to position itself as a mid-income, high-growth state, with a current economy of $130 billion and targets of $500 billion by 2036 and $1.5 trillion by 2047. She said the state’s strategy rests on what officials call EDGE , Economy, Demography, Geography and Ecosystem , and on fiscal health that allows it to maintain infrastructure spending and deliver promised incentives. Garg also said food processing and seafood are priority areas, alongside a deep-sea fishing mission and a shrimp export plan intended to raise seafood exports from about Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 25,000 crore.
The broader pitch comes as Odisha tries to convert its agricultural strengths in rice, millets, pulses, oilseeds, spices, livestock, poultry and fisheries into higher-value industries. The state has already framed a food processing policy offering capital subsidies, including enhanced support for women-led, SC- and ST-owned and technically trained enterprises, as well as projects in backward districts. Assocham has separately highlighted the sector’s potential for technology-driven growth, with a recent report with PwC pointing to Industry 4.0 tools, including artificial intelligence, as ways to improve food safety, cut waste and support more sustainable production.
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