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| Workshop on Post Harvest Technology & Management | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, DEC 26: Principal Secretary to Agriculture Production Department, Mrs. Sonali Kumar inaugurated two-day workshop on ‘Post Harvest Technology and Management (PHTM)’ here this morning. The workshop was organized by Department of Horticulture, Jammu.
Director Horticulture, Jammu, Mr. J. L. Sharma, Director Agriculture, Jammu, Mrs. Vinod Bala, Director Flouriculture, Jammu, Mr. Kulbushan Sharma, Director Command Area Development, Jammu, Mrs. Neelam Sharma and other senior officers of Horticulture, Agriculture and Flouriculture were present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Mrs. Kumar asked the officers to arrange camps in rural and border belts for educating the farmer community about the Central sponsored schemes in Horticulture and Agriculture Sectors. Regarding ‘reforming agricultural markets and promoting post harvest technology’, she said that the department has formulated that a new scheme to promote post harvest technology which ought to be taken up for implementation during the XI Five Year Plan. The basic aim of the scheme is to create adequate infrastructure in the production catchments/rural areas for primarily processing and value addition so as to reduce the post harvest losses on the farm to mop up surpluses at farm level and ensure fair price for the producer including availability of the produce in the production catchments itself at a reasonable price to consumers in these areas. She said that the scheme would focus on lower end of the spectrum of post harvest management and processing that are not covered under the Ministry of Food Processing Programmes or under the National Horticulture Mission.
The Principal Secretary informed that under the scheme, the technologies developed by ICAR, CSIR and those identified from within the country and abroad for primary processing, value addition, low cost scientific storage/transport of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane, vegetables, fruits and the crop bi-product management shall be given thrust.
On operational guidelines, Mrs. Kumar said that the units utilizing the available post harvest technologies and management, value addition, scientific storage, packaging technologies and technologies for bi-product management for animal feed and compost developed by ICAR, CSIR and those identified from within the country and abroad for primary processing of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane, vegetables like potato, onion and fruits like banana, jute, cotton etc apart from their low cost scientific storage (cool chambers for fruits and vegetables and transit storage for cereals, pulses, oilseeds and other agriculture produce), temperature controlled vans for transport of perishable farm produce shall be established in the production catchments under tri-partite agreement of state government, ICAR/CSIR and self-help group/user groups of farmers/cooperatives societies of farmers/non-governmental organizations.
Establishment of low cost PHTM units/supply of equipments with government assistance, Mrs. Kumar informed that the technology not requiring higher initial investments shall be established at farmer’s fields. She said that the technology only involving initial project investment upto Rs. 2 lakh may be opted by individual farmer. She said that post harvest management technologies/equipments is one of the important instrument for disseminating technology for fast popularization and adoption by the farmers. Under the scheme, the demonstrations would be taken up through ICAR, CSIR, SAUs, and State departments of Agriculture.
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