PAU HOLDING MEETS ON FOOD PROCESSING, PEST MANAGEMENT FOR FOOD SECURITY

LUDHIANA, MARCH 30:



India has an urgent need to usher another green revolution with emphasis on value addition of agricultural commodities through food processing. The ambitious 'Vision 2015' plan of the Government of India (GOI) envisions doubling food processing levels from its current level of 10 -20 %, and increasing value addition from 26 -35 %. It will also bid to see India\'s share of global trade rise from 1.5 - 3 % over the period. A workshop on 'Extrusion Processing" is being organized on April 7-8 at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in collaboration with Kansas State University (KSU), USA and the Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), informed Dr K.S. Minhas, Head, Department of Food Science and Technology. Dr Manjit Singh Kang, Vice Chancellor, PAU and Dr. R. T. Patil, Director, CIPHET, will be the chief guest and Guest of Honour, respectively on this occasion and the event will be coordinated by ASSOCOM India.



Giving the programme contours, Dr Minhas said that the workshop will focus on the role of advanced food processing technologies and also simple but elegant innovations developed by research institutions that would aid business, ranging from small and medium scale enterprises to large companies, to participate in this national effort. Speakers from KSU, Indian research institutions and processing industry will provide their perspectives. He added that the seminar will see the participation of scientists, teachers and researchers of interdisciplines (food science, nutrition, human ecology, home science and engineering) and industry (animal nutrition specialists, pet food producers, aquaculture, poultry and cattle feed producers and farmers, quality assurance managers, quality controllers, packaging and machinery suppliers, retailers, food regulators, food distributors, food and feed ingredients manufacturer/ suppliers).



Meanwhile, the Department of Entomology, PAU in association with Indian Society for the Advancement of Insect Science (INSAIS) is organizing the 3rd Congress on Insect Science from April 18-20 at university premises. Dr Kang will be chair the event. Giving an overview, Dr A.K. Dhawan, Head, Department of Entomology said that with the theme 'Pest Management for Food Security and Environment Health,' the Congress will witness the different technical sessions - insect biodiversity, novel approaches in pest management, ecological bases of pest management, information technology in pest management, pest management and environment health and management of useful insects. He further added that the technical sessions will lay thrust on the documentation of diversity, developments in taxonomy, insect biosystematics, host plant resistance, bio-rational methods, pest management in crop ecosystems, role of abiotic and biotic factors, judicious use of pesticides, pest forecasting, IT based decision support systems, pesticide residues, insecticide resistance, bio-safety, spray technology, pesticide pollution in environment and bees, silkworms, lac insects and pollinators.


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