NEW DELHI: The government is working on a

national food grid

, connecting deficient areas with producing regions, as part of a plan to reduce wastage of fruits and vegetables while ensuring stable prices that can help tame stubborn

food inflation

, food processing industries minister

Harsimrat Kaur Badal

has said.

As part of the plan, the government is developing a food map and a national cold chain grid. The plan is expected to be put for approval to Prime Minister Narendra Modi before being formally announced.“We have decided to make a food map to help us have a better picture of what is surplus in which state where it is grown. It will help us in creating the infrastructure at the time of harvest in these areas to stop wastage and ensure processing,” Badal told TOI in an interview on Tuesday, detailing the game plan to boost the sector.“Eventually, you make a food grid across the country like electricity is connected through a power grid. If onions are in surplus in Nagpur and prices are rising in Kerala, how do you transport the onions to Kerala?” she said.Badal said online real time data of availability of essential food stocks, perishable fruits and vegetables, poultry, fisheries, diary livestock would be available on the food grid for faster decision making in times of any price spike.A study had estimated that food products worth nearly Rs 44,000 crore is wasted annually due to lack of adequate processing. Barring milk, just around 4% of overall produce is processed. The government has identified development of food processing as a key focus area to keep inflation under check.Badal said her ministry has suggested that government offer benefits, such as interest subsidy to mega food parks. She, however, indicated that the concessions would be incentive-linked with a preference for those states that amend the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act (APMC).“I am going to tweak the whole thing and turn it around because I want to make these agri clusters. So for that I have to give an incentive that if you put it inside the park you get something additional that you don’t get if you put it outside. We are working on it,” she said, adding that mega food park scheme did not take off as only two out of 40 such parks were set up.States will be taken on board and state agro cooperatives would be encouraged to play a vital role to develop such parks.She said plans would also be developed to set up mega marine parks to tap into the potential for marine products. Foreign companies would be welcome to set up such parks to bring better technology and management practices.The government will encourage state agro cooperatives to engage in contract farming to develop food clusters and help in creating infrastructure in critical areas.To develop marketing and packaging standards, the ministry has also proposed setting up of a packaging and marketing board. “Why is my sarson ki saag from Punjab not available in Tamil Nadu and why is his idli not available for Punjab or Gujarati khakra. Punjab agro food should be available in Assam and J&K apples should be available somewhere else and then we need to build a brand for India and tap the demand from NRIs (non-resident Indians),” she said.