Bengaluru: India must move beyond food self-sufficiency and position itself as a global food powerhouse by harnessing technology, innovation and value addition in agriculture, industry leaders said at a conference on ‘Reimagining Agro-Food Processing: The AI & Robotics Revolution’ organised by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) on Tuesday.Delivering the keynote address, former Nestlé India Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan said the country’s food processing sector was at a decisive turning point.“India’s food processing sector stands at a decisive inflection point. While the industry is already valued at over $300 billion and is projected to touch $535 billion by 2025-26, we are still processing only about 10% of our agricultural produce compared to 80% in developed economies,” he said.Calling the gap India’s “biggest opportunity”, Narayanan said food processing could drive value addition, rural prosperity and employment generation.“The next leap must come from innovation, compliance-driven growth, healthier food portfolios and scaling niche sectors like millet-based superfoods, nutraceuticals and sustainable packaging. If India can align its policy, infrastructure and technology, food processing can become one of the strongest pillars of Viksit Bharat 2047,” he added.Echoing the need for a more ambitious vision, BCIC president Prashant Gokhale said India should aspire to become a global food supplier.“India today produces nearly 350 million tonnes of food grains and has achieved self-sufficiency for 1.5 billion people. But the next big question is: why stop at self-sufficiency? Why not become the ‘Food for the World’?” he said.Gokhale pointed out that nearly 30% of agricultural produce is lost to wastage.“With AI, robotics and advanced food processing, we can significantly reduce waste, create value-added products and strengthen global food security,” he said, adding that recent geopolitical disruptions had created an opportunity for India to emerge as a reliable global food supplier over the next decade and a half.Setting the context for the discussions, Ankur Bhaumik, chairman of BCIC’s Agro and Food Processing Expert Committee, said the coming decade would be defined by quality, compliance and global competitiveness.Noting that agriculture contributes about 15% of India’s GDP while supporting nearly 45% of the population, Bhaumik said, “If India has to grow as an economy, farmer incomes must rise alongside it. Agriculture may have been a slow starter, but that is where the biggest opportunity lies.”The role of technology in agriculture also featured prominently in discussions. C N Shiva Prakash, managing director of Karnataka Agro Processing and Export Corporation (KAPPEC), welcomed the adoption of AI and automation but stressed that technological progress must remain employment oriented.He added that Karnataka has emerged as a major food-processing hub, with more than 10,500 micro food-processing units supported under government schemes and over 3,500 millet manufacturing and processing units operating across the state.The conference also saw the release of a white paper on AI and automation in agro-food processing. The report highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation to improve quality assessment, traceability, market access and price discovery, while stressing the need to ensure that India’s millions of farming families are not left behind in a technology-driven future.– By Ananya Bhat & Swathi S Kumar