Event Details

Over a few decades, world has been facing agrarian and nutritional challenges. Recent challenges in agri-food sector from farm to folk exploiting to rural poverty, environmental issues (climate change, water scarcity and environmental degradation), post-harvest problems(to remove the husk layer), supplementary deficiency (malnutrition to obesity), and adulteration need to be focused for sustainment of productivity in agri-food system. Millets(Sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, foxtail, and kodo etc.,) is one of the solutions that contribute to sustainable development goals, responsible consumption and processing along with adaption of climate change crops. The growing health consciousness, environmental concern, and pressing need for updating our food systems to survive climate change and post- harvest problems, the &ldquomillets&rdquo as smart foods that humans started domesticating. Millets have also played an important role in nurturing soils and improving their fertility and texture, thereby increasing yield and hence returns to farmers. The progress in the millets scientific knowledge and technological innovations have led mankind into yet another stage of modern civilization. This ensure that the rural and urban communities benefit from increased demand, and from the nutritional, processing and commercial benefits of millet foods.

The module &ldquoKey enabling technologies in millet: Agri (Farm) to Food processing (Folk)&rdquowill provide an insight into the application of sustainable technologies for agri-food sector. These technologies can meet the demand of nutrition, convenient and smart foods which has promoted the demand of novel post-harvest processing technologies for millet foods. The sustainable technologies are a catalyst in breaking the food system divide so that the millet food is normal and major part of our diets. These enabling technologies of millets provides environmental, ecological, and economical sources of processing for agri and food sectors. In agricultural and food sector, strategized technological innovations viz. irrigation techniques, farm mechanization, post-harvest techniques (Grading, sorting, dehusking and milling etc.,) and storage facilities which will value to the millets foods while maintaining high productivity, product safety, quality and sustainability will be covered. A large number of emerging technologies from agri (farm) to food processing (folk) involving primary, secondary and tertiary processing of millets exploration and development of alternative techniques to traditional processing like pounding, winnowing etc., that add value to the agri and food value chain will be covered.The course intends to provide knowledge and application of these millet technologies which are considered as sustainable, have lower environmental impact and produce millet food with food security, nutritional security, pest security and economic security.