25 farmers get entrepreneurship training at PAU
Participants hailed from Malakpur Bet, Hasanpur and Lohat Badi villages
As many as 25 beneficiaries from Scheduled Castes and tribes (SC/ST) attended entrepreneurship training organised by the Department of Processing and Food Engineering (DPFE), Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).
The participants hailed from Malakpur Bet, Hasanpur and Lohat Badi villages, along with adjoining areas.
The session was organised under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) All India Coordinated Research Project on Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology.
The training titled “Entrepreneurship development programme in agro processing for better livelihood” was conducted under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) of ICAR-43.
Highlighting the role of micro-enterprises in strengthening rural livelihoods, MS Alam, principal scientist and project in-charge, presented a lecture on small-scale agro enterprises for durables, spices and honey. The lecture focused on employment and remunerative income generation.
Manpreet Kaur Saini, senior entomologist, conducted a session on appropriate scientific storage of foodgrains and pulses for good returns.
Sandhya, principal scientist, elaborated on farm-level processing of food grains, oilseeds and pulses. Gagandeep Kaur Nagra, food microbiologist, delved into production and processing of mushroom for remunerative business, emphasising the expanding market potential of mushroom-based products.
Surekha, principal biochemist, discussed with the trainees quality testing in jaggery production and processing for enhanced returns.
The participants were provided a practical demonstration of small-scale post-harvest machinery, enabling them to observe the operation and utility of equipment relevant to rural processing units.
Rohit Sharma, senior scientist, explained the working of various post-harvest machineries installed in the APC building. The participants were given live demonstrations and hands-on training in jaggery processing.
TC Mittal, head, Department of Processing and Food Engineering, congratulated the participants on completing the training and reaffirmed the department’s commitment to enhancing livelihood opportunities for farmers and rural youth through accessible and innovative agro-processing technologies.
The programme concluded with the distribution of food processing kits, PAU pulse storage kit and training material.
