A total of 28 agriculture and horticulture officers, scientists from PAU and its Krishi Vigyan Kendras attended the course
The Skill Development Centre, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, organised a two-day online training course on agro-based industries at a small scale level for in-service candidates. A total of 28 agriculture and horticulture officers, scientists from PAU and its Krishi Vigyan Kendras attended the course.
Dr Kuldeep Singh, Associate Director (Skill Development) emphasised on the need for developing more innovative mechanisms to boost rural employment opportunities in the agricultural sector.
Dr Kiran Grover, Principal Extension Scientist (Food & Nutrition) and Course Coordinator shared that the small and medium enterprises set up at the rural level can supplement farm income in a big way and can create an alternate source of income by generating employment opportunities for rural youth.
Dr MS Alam, Principal Scientist, Processing and Food Engineering shed light on the set-up of various agro-processing complexes. He informed that the developing entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector can benefit immensely by local processing of farm produce, ensuring adulteration free products and ease of disposal of waste. “Further, it will reduce the need for migration from rural to the urban area, thereby reducing the pressure on urban cities”, stressed Dr Alam.
Dr Tarsem Chand Mittal, Senior Extension Engineer, Department of Processing and Food Engineering and Technical Coordinator demonstrated the processing technology and machinery for turmeric. He illustrated that one kg turmeric powder can be obtained by processing five kg raw turmeric which can lead to a two-fold increase in earnings through proper marketing.
Prof Dr Satish Kumar discussed the machinery for cleaning and grading of fruits and vegetables and storage of vegetables after drying. Dr Sandhya, Senior Scientist detailed the processing of oilseeds and paddy at the farmers’ level.
Later, Dr Grover while proposing the vote of thanks remarked that apart from generating new sources of job and income, it is equally important to bring about transformational change in the agribusiness sector.