Food processing can be a very good value added activity that helps farmers and rural folk to increase their incomes and helps increase employment. The processed food can often be sold at many multiples of just selling the crop. The processed and packaged food can be sold in far away markets or cities. Also most crops suffer from price drops when there is a glut in the market after harvest, and processing much of the crop enables some of this surplus to be used, helping to support the price. Food processing is also a form of industrial development that generated employment in the manufacturing of the food processing equipment. As compared with states like Haryand and Maharashtra, Punjab suffers from a lack of support by the state government of farmer based food processing organizations (FPOs). Haryana, for example, invests 90% of the cost of the capital equipment of a newly registered FPO, whereas Punjab only provides a 30-40% investment, as a result of which, farmer based FPOs have not flourished in Punjab. The scope of this is big for processing crops and marketing these to other parts of India or for export to other nations.

The technique also favors traditional varieties of seeds and crops and generally does not use hybrid and new varieties and definitely not the new GMO (genetically modified) seeds. The plants are generally planted intensively and sometimes uses the practice of companion planting, where plants that like each other are grown together.

The plants are generally healthier and so more resistant to insect attacks, but one can use sprays of biological herbicides and pesticides, if needed. Organic farming is more labor intensive, but should command a premium in terms of price as the produce is cleaner and more nutritious. The produce is generally more nutritious and is definitely free of any herbicide and pesticide residues that are and for the health.”