National Conference on Efficient Food Processing for Climate Change Trends (EFFECT) Highlights Urgent Need for Sustainable Solutions
New Delhi: Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Govt. of India, and National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, Kundli (NIFTEM-K), An Institute of National Importance, are organizing a two-day National Conference on Efficient Food Processing for Environmental and Climate-Change Trends (EFFECT) on May 15, 2024, at NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi. The event brought together esteemed dignitaries and experts to address the pressing challenges facing the food processing industry in the wake of climate change.
Dr. Harinder Singh Oberoi, Director, NIFTEM-K, set the context for the conference, emphasizing the importance of precision feeding, circular economy concepts, open cultivation for hybridization, efficient supply chains, refrigeration systems, machinery, and the pivotal role of the IoT in efficient food processing.
Keynote speaker Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), shed light on the collaborative efforts between agencies like Sameer and the ministry to address food processing challenges. The main focus of the conference, as highlighted by Shri Krishnan, is to devise strategies to reduce losses in food production.
In her presidential address, Smt. Anita Praveen, Secretary of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), stressed the urgent need to shift towards renewable resources and minimize waste to ensure a sustainable future. “We must make smart choices,” she emphasized.
Addressing the audience as the Chief Guest, Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member of NITI Aayog and Chairman of the Institute of Economic Growth, emphasized that efficient food processing is integral to climate-smart solutions.
The program concluded with a vote of thanks from Dr. Bhim Pratap Singh, Head of the Department, Agriculture and Environment Sciences, NIFTEM-K, who highlighted key areas of concern such as post-harvest losses, storage, fumigation, remote storage management, and transportation.
Almost 200 participants have attended the conference, including Policymakers, Industry, Academia, Government officials, First Generation Entrepreneurs, Start-ups, and Students associated in the fields of Agriculture, Environment science, and Food Processing. The National Conference “ EFFECT” has a combination of Expert Talks, Panel Discussion and Poster Sessions.