The need to involve and train farmers in food processing technology was emphasised by speakers at a seminar on nutraceuticals and functional Foods at Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) here on Wednesday.
Delivering the inaugural address at the seminar, held as part of the Golden Jubilee of IIFPT, Minhaj Alam, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, said around jone lakh crore worth agricultural produce went “useless” every year due to improper storage and handling.
While it was said that farmers were not getting proper price for their products, the level of processing of agricultural/horticultural produce which might help ryots gett better returns was hardly around 10%. This despite the food processing sector witnessing a growth of 11% compared to other industries, Mr.Alam said.
Further, there was a need to improve the ways of processing so as to reduce e wastage of agriculture produce. Keeping this in mind, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries had initiated several steps such as setting up of cold storages, food parks and research and development projects. A food processing industry that could be started with minimum investment by an entrepreneur, had immense employment potential, he said.
Vice-president of Tamil Nadu State Council of Science and Technology Mylswamy Annadurai said efforts should be initiated to transform farmers from mere producers to entrepreneurs in the field of food processing.
Stating that current day food habits lead to problems in health condition of people, food processing technology should be utilised in a way that value added products could check the deterioration of health of consumers. At the same time, novel technologies such as nano scale processing and 3D printing incorporated in food processing widen the scope for researches in food processing.
Director of IIFPT C.Anandharamakrishnan said there was enormous scope for entrepreneurs to scale new heights as the nutraceutical and functional foods market in the country was worth several billion dollars.
Mr. Minhaj Alam released the IIFPT Golden Jubilee souvenir and Director, Postal Services, Central Region, Tiruchi, A. Thomas Lourduraj released a special IIFT Golden Jubilee postal envelope and stamp.
V. Subramaniyan Endowment Lecture Awards were presented to the former chairman and managing director, Modern Food Industries India Limited, Murali Krishna Madhavapeddi and former director, Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, R.T. Patil.
Source: The Hindu
