E-Paper
Ludhiana: CIPHET bats for cereal, millet-based products
This initiative was carried out under the Scheduled Caste sub-plan scheme of the Government of India
The ICAR–Central Institute of Post–Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), organised a three-day training programme titled “Protein-Enriched: Cereal and millet based value-added products” from October 18 to 20.
This initiative was carried out under the Scheduled Caste sub-plan scheme of the Government of India.
The programme’s primary objective was to empower economically disadvantaged Scheduled Caste families and equip them to engage in activities related to cereal and millet processing, with a particular focus on the creation of value-added food products. The event saw the participation of fifty Scheduled Caste women from various villages of Punjab, including Sekha, Kot Dhuna, Maurnabha, Dhilwan, Bhakthgarh, Tallewal, Bhotna, and Uggoke.
Coordinated by surya scientist Manju Bala and Swati Sethi, scientist, FG&OP division at ICAR-CIPHET Ludhiana, the skill development programme included hands-on training in the processing of food grains. Participants learned about milling millets and cereals, pasta production, and the creation of bakery products from millets (including biscuits and muffins from finger millet). The training also covered the production of extruded and popped products using coarse cereals such as pearl millet and sorghum.
During the programme, experts delivered lectures on various government schemes and marketing strategies. R K Vishwakarma, in-charge director of ICAR-CIPHET, highlighted the utilisation of the institute’s processing facilities for entrepreneurial activities, providing valuable experience for those entering the processing industry. Manju Bala, head of the FG&OP division, encouraged participants to form farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and initiate millet processing and value addition activities.
As a part of knowledge sharing, a training manual on the subject was released and distributed to the participants.
