21-day winter school training begins at college of agriculture

A 21-day winter school training programme on ‘Harvest to Hold: Mastering Horticultural Crop Storage, Marketing, and Value Addition through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) in Cold Chain Management for MSME’ was inaugurated by Vice-Chancellor Dr Satbir Singh Gosal at the Department of Processing and Food Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).

Dr Gosal said the agricultural sector was standing at a crossroads, struggling with a mismatch between production, processing, storage, and marketing. He also highlighted the achievements of the PAU and encouraged participants to leverage this opportunity for advancing their research and expertise by collaborating among themselves.

During an interaction session, he informed the participants that they would benefit from expert lectures, hands-on training, and interactive sessions on the integration of AI and IoT in transforming cold chain management during the three-week training.

The digital release of the compendium by all the esteemed dignitaries was coordinated by Dr Preeti Birwal, course coordinator. The occasion was graced by Dr Gurjit Singh Mangat, ADR (Agriculture). He gave his diligent remarks on the establishment of food processing industries to ensure food and nutritional security. Dr GPS Sodhi (ADEE) emphasised the extension services of the PAU.

Dr Manjeet Singh, Dean, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, highlighted that the inclusion of IoT and AI in food processing and preservation was the need of the hour.

Course director Dr Satish Kumar briefed the participants about the PAU winter school through a presentation that aligned with ICAR’s vision of fostering research and innovation in the sector of food processing. The programme brought together young scientists from various regions of the country to enhance their knowledge on these critical topics.