The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to form the Kerala Agro Business Company (Kabco) to promote the marketing of agricultural products.
Kabco will pave the way for processing and value addition of agricultural produce and formation of agri-parks and fruit parks in the State, said Agriculture Minister P. Prasad.
Kabco will be constituted in public-private partnership (PPP) mode on the lines of the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL).
It will act as an independent company for running agro parks and linking farmers with the marketing network, he said.
The company will equip Kerala farmers to meet the requirements of the global markets, according to him.
The shareholding pattern in Kabco will have the State government holding 33% shares, farmers 24%, and farmer collectives and cooperatives 25%. Primary agricultural agencies and financial institutions will also have shares in the company. The Agriculture Minister will serve as the chairman of Kabco.
The Principal Secretary (Agriculture), Agriculture Director, a representative of the Finance department and the managing director of the Kerala Agro Industries Corporation will serve on its director board in the initial phase.
The Vattavada Vegetable Agro Park, the Banana-Honey Agro Park at Kannara, Thrissur, the Coconut Trading and Marketing Hub Agro Park at Vengeri, Kozhikode and the Mango Agro Park at Muthalamada, Palakkad, will serve as the company’s basic units in this phase.
