Seminar on food processing at MMU

Tribune News Service

Ambala, March 29

The Department of Agriculture, Maharishi Markandeshwar University (MMU), Sadopur, organised a national seminar on “Agro-food processing: Trends and prospects in India” here today. The seminar was sponsored by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

A farmer and entrepreneur, Padma Shri Chaudhary Sultan Singh, was the chief guest while Prof Manjeet Aggarwal, Dean (Research), NIFTEM, was the keynote speaker on the occasion.

Dr RB Grewal, Director, Centre of Food Science and Technology, Haryana Agriculture University, and Dr PK Bhardwaj, General Manager, Regional Office, NABARD, Haryana, were the guests of honour at the seminar.

In his address, Chaudhary Sultan Singh shared his experiences and struggles. He urged students to put into practice the knowledge they acquire during their academic life.

He was of the view that agriculture must be practiced in a sustainable way by using latest technology to make it profitable. He exhorted students to become entrepreneurs and job givers rather than job-seekers.

Vice-Chancellor, Dr Harish Kumar Sharma, said, “As India is primarily an agricultural economy, hence concerted efforts are needed to make farming and other farm-related activities financially viable.”

Prof Aggarwal argued that there was an urgent need for capacity building at various levels of the farming process. She said, “India’s potential to become a global player of food processing is unquestionable, but lack of infrastructure, unskilled labour and policies are big hurdles.”

On the occasion, a souvenir of the seminar in which abstracts of over 50 research papers were published was released.