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THANJAVUR
Post-harvest loss is also a factor that obstructs the materialising the dream of doubling farmers income, according to the NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand.
Professor Ramesh Chand made this observation while addressing the students of the Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology at the Graduation Ceremony held here on Friday.
Though the country has been at the forefront in food grain production globally and the second-largest food producer in terms of calorie content, Professor Ramesh Chand said the post-harvest loss plagued the supply chain industry and it was disheartening that every year substantial produce was lost.
The estimated loss in durables hovers around 10%, semi-perishables and commodities like milk, fish, meat, eggs, fruits and vegetables between 10 to 20% and the horticultural produce at around 16%. Incidentally, the food processing industry sums up to about 32% of the country’s total food market which receives raw food from the farmers’ assets such as farms and livestock. Thus by reducing the post-harvest loss enhancing the income of farmers could become a reality, the NITI Aayog member observed.
Stating that the food processing domain had traversed the boundaries of conventional basic science and the aggregate of sciences to produce the best results, he congratulated the IIFPT for its continuous efforts in evolving and spreading the techniques for better processing, preservation and enriching of food products.
Delivering the special address on the occasion, the Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Tirupati, Kalidindi N. Satyanarayana emphasised the need for an interdisciplinary approach in the research on food processing.
Exhorting the passing out graduates to remain abreast with technology and hone their managerial and entrepreneurial skills, Professor Satyanarayana opined that joint venture initiatives between the educational institutions and the industry in the field of applied research and experiential learning would help address certain problems faced by the farming community and as well as the food processing industry.
In his opening remarks, the Director, IIFPT, C.Anandharamakrishnan observed that the agriculture and food processing industries should work together for reducing the wastage of agricultural produce and thereby increase the livelihoods of farmers.
A total of 116 graduates – 72 in B.Tech (Food Process Engineering), 23 in M.Tech (FPE) and 21 in M.Tech (Food Science and Technology) – received their degree certificates.
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