Dr. Armaan U. Muzaddadi, Principal Scientist, ICAR-Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology in Ludhiana, Punjab, talks about post-harvest handling, preservation, and value addition of agricultural perishables.
We are looking after the postharvest technologies and different technologies and methods that are useful for agriculture sector and farmers. During our R and D activities, we are focusing on quality safety, refinement, revalidation, automation, mass production, testing, collaboration, HRD, and knowledge repository. We are working on processing machinery, technology, value addition technology, better utilisation of crop residue and byproducts, quality, safety, hygiene, environment, control structures, automation in food processing, mass manufacturing, testing services, collaboration with other industries and agencies etc.
For primary processing aspects, we have Agro Processing Centre or APC developed by our institute to familiarise or to make it acquainted with village scenario because farmers in villages are not equipped or trained in different processing processes. They do not have cleaned products and so get low prices. In our APCs in a single centre, we instal different types of processing machineries, mostly primary and secondary, where the farmers can come with their produce and get them processed for better price. This processing is charged marginally. The machines used in an APC are mini rice mill, oil expeller, small and large atta chakkies with scouring machine, masala grinder, penja, pulse cleaner, and feed mill. The construction and installation costs Rs. 20 to 25 lakhs with employment generation. The composition of machines may vary according to crops. We have sent a proposal to Ministry of Agriculture to have one APC in each district of the country.
For maize processing, a small machine that can process small quantity is available at a cheaper rate for the farmers to use in their yards. Shelling machines cost only Rs. 20 thousand. CIPHET maize de germer also costs Rs. 20 thousand while flour mixer costs only Rs. 10 thousand, and machines with a capacity of 400 to 500 kg per hour costs Rs 25 lakhs. These are very basic processing methods for cereals and cereals by which farmers can earn more money.
We have Pulses PKV mini dal mill which is very popular in India which gets subsidy from state and central government for purchasing. It costs Rs. 1.15 lakhs with capacity of 300 to 400 kg per hour but may go up to Rs. 2 lakhs including packaging and transportation. Sunflower dehuller is used for dehulling and subsequent processing which can be used for oil processing in mustard and groundnut too. In Punjab, wadi making machine is taking lot of time and low precision. So we have developed the mechanised traditional technology, automatic wadi making machine. Makhana which has high protein content is difficult to process. So we have machine for that too. This has a huge demand in Indian domestic market and export market too. Cryogenic grinding machine has been developed by CIPHET to grind spices. In traditional method, when spices are ground, it generates heat and leads to loss of volatile components which give the flavour. ICAR CIPHET has developed the machine that grinds the spices and also retain the volatility. The machine costs Rs. 15 lakhs and capacity of 30 to 50 kg per hour.
In traditional method, when fish are harvested from water bodies, they die and are usually processed by ice. They lose the quality and emit smell also and fetch very low price in the market. We have developed a live fish carrier system where the fish can be transported for 100 kms or more without the fish dying which will fetch more price. In the market, the process of cutting fish is very unhygienic, and to tackle the problem, we have developed a fish cleaning station, where we can remove the scales and wastes of the fish by using some hand tools. This system is very efficient, and everything is being taken care of. Hygienic fish dressing and waste collection system are essential in fish markets.
For sugarcane processing and honey processing also we have techniques. We have developed techniques to prepare chemical free jaggery from mould and cooling pan. Many people in Punjab are using it. For honey processing, we have machinery such as heating unit, storage tank, and bottling unit. With central government focusing on utilising the wastes due to processing, we are using groundnut waste and citrus fruit peel to extract proteins through a machinery. For extracting protein from peels of citrus fruit, a small machine is used at a cost of Rs. 1.5 lakhs. Using our machines, we can do sanitisation, disinfecting, and quality evaluation, and check the adulterants in spices, ripening of mangoes, and other fruits by just touching the tip of the fruits. We can also prepare milk and paneer from peanut. The strong nutty flavour from peanut is removed with basic dairy analogue preparation. This is a popular technique used by many entrepreneurs. For those people who are not tolerant to milk, peanut milk can be used.
We also have machines to prepare fruit bars from jamun, mango, guava without touching the produce by hand. It costs Rs. 1.6 lakhs and is automatic. Another machine for removing peas from pod, pomegranate aril extraction which is a very laborious task and prepare juice and anardana for digestion. Our machines can clean, grade, and pack in ready to cook packages. Tomatoes which cost very high many a time in a year can also be stored like this and used. By using these methods, the shelf life of fruits and vegetables can be increased, and chances of contamination during handling and transportation are less. We have developed bael and wood apple pulper which is the first of its kind in India to separate pulp and process. We can reduce the loss and damage to fruits by using these techniques. The seeds of ber fruits is removed and canned. Green chilly processing into puree and powder, preparation of pomegranate jelly and mouth freshener, rose petal jams preparation are done by our machines. We also have different methods of fumigation and storage of fruits like grapes.
Our research priorities currently are on automatic development of robots and robotic arms to harvest apples in Srinagar. Management of pilot plans, technology documentation, effective utilisation of agro processing, are our priorities now. We recently conducted a Kisan Mela where entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and farmers participated to showcase their products. We are organising so many events to showcase the processing equipment, processed food, demonstration of machines, and technologies. We are conducting seminars, business promotions, startup promotion, and many other things.
What are the key challenges individual farmers face in modern agriculture?
In modern days agriculture, farmers are distracted from agriculture as they are leaving the rural side. The main difficulty they face is they do not have any control over the price of their own products unlike other sectors like textiles where the producers can fix the price for their products and sell at a higher rate. They can fix their own MRP. But farmers do not have the rights to do so. When they produce the products, the government fixes some MSP which is not helping them much, but it is still continuing. We have frequent discussion with the farmers from various states. Marketing chain and value chain should be improved to give a sure income to the farmers. Other problems are manageable.
What technologies are Agri entrepreneurs adopting to increase farm productivity?
For increasing farming productivity, we have to follow modern techniques like fertilizers, irrigation, etc. Nowadays, drip irrigation is gaining importance. In areas where there is low rainfall, we cannot depend on rain, and so we have to use drip irrigation to use every drop of water for irrigation purpose. This will give them benefits as they will not be spending money for the water not used by the plants. In traditional system where they were using flood irrigation system, lot of water was evaporating and percolating into the ground. That water is not used by the plant which is a loss to the farmers. In drip irrigation, each drop of water is used by the plants. So farmers are able to save money and get better income too. They have to follow drip irrigation for this. And many parts of India have come under drip irrigation now.
What financial support is available to the individual farmers to invest in their farms?
There are so many government schemes. Presently loans are given from the government schemes and banks to fund the farmers. In practicality, it is not easy to get loan in time as they would demand many details. So farmers can avail the loans by talking to the district agriculture department and state agriculture departments. They will explain the various schemes such as RKVY.
What are the key differences in the business models of traditional farmers and Agri entrepreneurs?
Agri entrepreneurs and traditional farmers are the different in the sense, the key difference between them is traditional farmers will not go for processing. They will just produce, sell in the field itself many a times. So there is no middlemen. Traders come to the field, pick up the produce by paying the farmers there itself. Sometimes the traditional farmers also do a little bit of processing in the field itself and they do not bring the produce to their home. But the Agri entrepreneurs are different. Here they will have their own processing unit and packaging units, they will have good knowledge about when the rates will go high and become players in the market. They know when the price is high and who are better players in the market. So they have all the marketing knowledge and processing the products. They get trained in these aspects, and accordingly they will sell the produce and earn more money.
What are the major government policies to support the growth of Agri entrepreneurs?
Startups are many in India, and there are many schemes to support them. It is not very difficult to get support from the government if they have training from some institutes, have certificates and approach the government.
What are the innovative marketing strategies employed by Agri entrepreneurs to sell their produce?
In my experience, I would say that the farmers are now trying to make a detour by establishing network among farmers of various states to exchange the products. This way things are working, and the next this is FPO. When 50 to 100 farmers can come together and make a formation called FPO, they come under the control of the government and get all facilities from the government side, in particular for marketing. Government will help in finding the market and selling the produce. This has been a success in Maharashtra. Many FPOs are coming to us for training, but in many states FPOs are not doing well. If they start functioning well, the farmers will get highly benefited through them.
How can individuals without farming experience transition into Agri based entrepreneurship?
Agri based entrepreneurship can be of various types, starting from production which alone can have many deviations like drip irrigation which is a mega activity. They have to provide support to the farmers by offering irrigation materials, pipes, and sprinklers. So that is one kind of entrepreneurship. On the technological side, when they use drip irrigation, they will need support from the technicians. Many states are working in this direction. After production, we can have some entrepreneurship for making primary processing units like collecting millets, cleaning, grading, and packaging which will make the product good to sell in international market also. Many such steps can be done easily. If we are spending so much of money and need expertise, even then there are many avenues. Fruit can be packaged and marketed easily. We can help the farmer to process the produces and sell at a higher price. It can be done in a small, medium, large scale also. Everywhere we have the opportunity to start entrepreneurship. The chain for agriculture depends on the individual’s interest and which area they want to move into.
Dr. Armaan U.
Muzaddadi
Principal Scientist, ICAR
Email: drarmaan@gmail.com
Phone: 7973591395
We are looking after the postharvest technologies and different technologies and methods that are useful for agriculture sector and farmers. During our R and D activities, we are focusing on quality safety, refinement, revalidation, automation, mass production, testing, collaboration, HRD, and knowledge repository. We are working on processing machinery, technology, value addition technology, better utilisation of crop residue and byproducts, quality, safety, hygiene, environment, control structures, automation in food processing, mass manufacturing, testing services, collaboration with other industries and agencies etc.
For primary processing aspects, we have Agro Processing Centre or APC developed by our institute to familiarise or to make it acquainted with village scenario because farmers in villages are not equipped or trained in different processing processes. They do not have cleaned products and so get low prices. In our APCs in a single centre, we instal different types of processing machineries, mostly primary and secondary, where the farmers can come with their produce and get them processed for better price. This processing is charged marginally. The machines used in an APC are mini rice mill, oil expeller, small and large atta chakkies with scouring machine, masala grinder, penja, pulse cleaner, and feed mill. The construction and installation costs Rs. 20 to 25 lakhs with employment generation. The composition of machines may vary according to crops. We have sent a proposal to Ministry of Agriculture to have one APC in each district of the country.
For maize processing, a small machine that can process small quantity is available at a cheaper rate for the farmers to use in their yards. Shelling machines cost only Rs. 20 thousand. CIPHET maize de germer also costs Rs. 20 thousand while flour mixer costs only Rs. 10 thousand, and machines with a capacity of 400 to 500 kg per hour costs Rs 25 lakhs. These are very basic processing methods for cereals and cereals by which farmers can earn more money.
We have Pulses PKV mini dal mill which is very popular in India which gets subsidy from state and central government for purchasing. It costs Rs. 1.15 lakhs with capacity of 300 to 400 kg per hour but may go up to Rs. 2 lakhs including packaging and transportation. Sunflower dehuller is used for dehulling and subsequent processing which can be used for oil processing in mustard and groundnut too. In Punjab, wadi making machine is taking lot of time and low precision. So we have developed the mechanised traditional technology, automatic wadi making machine. Makhana which has high protein content is difficult to process. So we have machine for that too. This has a huge demand in Indian domestic market and export market too. Cryogenic grinding machine has been developed by CIPHET to grind spices. In traditional method, when spices are ground, it generates heat and leads to loss of volatile components which give the flavour. ICAR CIPHET has developed the machine that grinds the spices and also retain the volatility. The machine costs Rs. 15 lakhs and capacity of 30 to 50 kg per hour.
In traditional method, when fish are harvested from water bodies, they die and are usually processed by ice. They lose the quality and emit smell also and fetch very low price in the market. We have developed a live fish carrier system where the fish can be transported for 100 kms or more without the fish dying which will fetch more price. In the market, the process of cutting fish is very unhygienic, and to tackle the problem, we have developed a fish cleaning station, where we can remove the scales and wastes of the fish by using some hand tools. This system is very efficient, and everything is being taken care of. Hygienic fish dressing and waste collection system are essential in fish markets.
For sugarcane processing and honey processing also we have techniques. We have developed techniques to prepare chemical free jaggery from mould and cooling pan. Many people in Punjab are using it. For honey processing, we have machinery such as heating unit, storage tank, and bottling unit. With central government focusing on utilising the wastes due to processing, we are using groundnut waste and citrus fruit peel to extract proteins through a machinery. For extracting protein from peels of citrus fruit, a small machine is used at a cost of Rs. 1.5 lakhs. Using our machines, we can do sanitisation, disinfecting, and quality evaluation, and check the adulterants in spices, ripening of mangoes, and other fruits by just touching the tip of the fruits. We can also prepare milk and paneer from peanut. The strong nutty flavour from peanut is removed with basic dairy analogue preparation. This is a popular technique used by many entrepreneurs. For those people who are not tolerant to milk, peanut milk can be used.
We also have machines to prepare fruit bars from jamun, mango, guava without touching the produce by hand. It costs Rs. 1.6 lakhs and is automatic. Another machine for removing peas from pod, pomegranate aril extraction which is a very laborious task and prepare juice and anardana for digestion. Our machines can clean, grade, and pack in ready to cook packages. Tomatoes which cost very high many a time in a year can also be stored like this and used. By using these methods, the shelf life of fruits and vegetables can be increased, and chances of contamination during handling and transportation are less. We have developed bael and wood apple pulper which is the first of its kind in India to separate pulp and process. We can reduce the loss and damage to fruits by using these techniques. The seeds of ber fruits is removed and canned. Green chilly processing into puree and powder, preparation of pomegranate jelly and mouth freshener, rose petal jams preparation are done by our machines. We also have different methods of fumigation and storage of fruits like grapes.
Our research priorities currently are on automatic development of robots and robotic arms to harvest apples in Srinagar. Management of pilot plans, technology documentation, effective utilisation of agro processing, are our priorities now. We recently conducted a Kisan Mela where entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and farmers participated to showcase their products. We are organising so many events to showcase the processing equipment, processed food, demonstration of machines, and technologies. We are conducting seminars, business promotions, startup promotion, and many other things.
What are the key challenges individual farmers face in modern agriculture?
In modern days agriculture, farmers are distracted from agriculture as they are leaving the rural side. The main difficulty they face is they do not have any control over the price of their own products unlike other sectors like textiles where the producers can fix the price for their products and sell at a higher rate. They can fix their own MRP. But farmers do not have the rights to do so. When they produce the products, the government fixes some MSP which is not helping them much, but it is still continuing. We have frequent discussion with the farmers from various states. Marketing chain and value chain should be improved to give a sure income to the farmers. Other problems are manageable.
What technologies are Agri entrepreneurs adopting to increase farm productivity?
For increasing farming productivity, we have to follow modern techniques like fertilizers, irrigation, etc. Nowadays, drip irrigation is gaining importance. In areas where there is low rainfall, we cannot depend on rain, and so we have to use drip irrigation to use every drop of water for irrigation purpose. This will give them benefits as they will not be spending money for the water not used by the plants. In traditional system where they were using flood irrigation system, lot of water was evaporating and percolating into the ground. That water is not used by the plant which is a loss to the farmers. In drip irrigation, each drop of water is used by the plants. So farmers are able to save money and get better income too. They have to follow drip irrigation for this. And many parts of India have come under drip irrigation now.
What financial support is available to the individual farmers to invest in their farms?
There are so many government schemes. Presently loans are given from the government schemes and banks to fund the farmers. In practicality, it is not easy to get loan in time as they would demand many details. So farmers can avail the loans by talking to the district agriculture department and state agriculture departments. They will explain the various schemes such as RKVY.
What are the key differences in the business models of traditional farmers and Agri entrepreneurs?
Agri entrepreneurs and traditional farmers are the different in the sense, the key difference between them is traditional farmers will not go for processing. They will just produce, sell in the field itself many a times. So there is no middlemen. Traders come to the field, pick up the produce by paying the farmers there itself. Sometimes the traditional farmers also do a little bit of processing in the field itself and they do not bring the produce to their home. But the Agri entrepreneurs are different. Here they will have their own processing unit and packaging units, they will have good knowledge about when the rates will go high and become players in the market. They know when the price is high and who are better players in the market. So they have all the marketing knowledge and processing the products. They get trained in these aspects, and accordingly they will sell the produce and earn more money.
What are the major government policies to support the growth of Agri entrepreneurs?
Startups are many in India, and there are many schemes to support them. It is not very difficult to get support from the government if they have training from some institutes, have certificates and approach the government.
What are the innovative marketing strategies employed by Agri entrepreneurs to sell their produce?
In my experience, I would say that the farmers are now trying to make a detour by establishing network among farmers of various states to exchange the products. This way things are working, and the next this is FPO. When 50 to 100 farmers can come together and make a formation called FPO, they come under the control of the government and get all facilities from the government side, in particular for marketing. Government will help in finding the market and selling the produce. This has been a success in Maharashtra. Many FPOs are coming to us for training, but in many states FPOs are not doing well. If they start functioning well, the farmers will get highly benefited through them.
How can individuals without farming experience transition into Agri based entrepreneurship?
Agri based entrepreneurship can be of various types, starting from production which alone can have many deviations like drip irrigation which is a mega activity. They have to provide support to the farmers by offering irrigation materials, pipes, and sprinklers. So that is one kind of entrepreneurship. On the technological side, when they use drip irrigation, they will need support from the technicians. Many states are working in this direction. After production, we can have some entrepreneurship for making primary processing units like collecting millets, cleaning, grading, and packaging which will make the product good to sell in international market also. Many such steps can be done easily. If we are spending so much of money and need expertise, even then there are many avenues. Fruit can be packaged and marketed easily. We can help the farmer to process the produces and sell at a higher price. It can be done in a small, medium, large scale also. Everywhere we have the opportunity to start entrepreneurship. The chain for agriculture depends on the individual’s interest and which area they want to move into.
Dr. Armaan U.
Muzaddadi
Principal Scientist, ICAR
Email: drarmaan@gmail.com
Phone: 7973591395