The Sikkim Organic Food Summit was organized by the State Commerce and Industries Department today in Gangtok. The event, which was supported by the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries, was inaugurated by Sikkim Minister for Power and Labour  M. N. Sherpa. On the occasion, Mr Sherpa inaugurated a Food Fair-cum-Exhibition of products marketed by Self-Help Groups and interacted with entrepreneurs from across the state.<br />''<br />''Mr Sherpa expressed satisfaction on the increasing number of entrepreneurs coming up from different parts of Sikkim with different products to become self-employed and self-reliant. He said, the State Government has been supporting the youth with start-up and other schemes to promote entrepreneurship. He urged them to take advantage of these opportunities to become self-reliant rather than only pursuing government jobs. He informed that the Chief Minister has directed government departments to establish help desks to guide local entrepreneurs.<br />''<br />''Acknowledging that local entrepreneurs have been facing the challenge of identifying proper markets for their products, Mr Sherpa directed concerned departments to collect detailed data on entrepreneurs in Sikkim to know about their current situation and other issues. He directed government officials to regularly update local entrepreneurs on new schemes and programmes. He also urged concerned Ministries to support entrepreneurs in securing markets for their products.<br />''<br />''In his key note address, Economic Adviser to the Ministry of Food Processing Industries Kuntal Sensarma presented the status of food processing in the country and spoke on major challenges related to micro-information units, post-harvest losses, supply chain infrastructure gaps, low level of technology and lack of product development. He also highlighted major schemes of the Ministry like Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, PM-Formalization of Micro Enterprises Scheme and Production Linked Incentive Scheme.<br />''<br />''Mr Sensarma said that Sikkim was an organic state and should use this potential and opportunities in the world market.<br />''<br />''The Sikkim Organic Food Summit, which was organized as part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', also included a technical session involving Invest India, Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries, NABARD and State Bank of India, among others. Investment opportunities in Sikkim, business prospects of organic food processing, horticulture food processing prospects and potential investment in the food processing sector were also discussed among other issues.<br />