Training Course On Farm Related Enterprises Begins At PAU

Ludhiana, May 11, 2015: A five-day training course on “Setting-up of Agricultural Enterprises at Small Scale Level” began at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) today. Farmers and farm women are participating in the course, jointly organized by the Directorate of Extension Education (DEE) and the Department of Processing and Food Engineering, PAU.

Giving details, Dr R.S. Sidhu, Director of Extension Education said the subject-matter specialists will highlight the significance of farm related ventures in Punjab. Focus will also be on post-harvest management of fruits and vegetables; drying of vegetables and their management; cleaning and grading of fruits and vegetables; preparation of potato chips; mushroom cultivation and processing; poultry and dairy feed technology. Besides, experts will give demonstrations on the processing of paddy, wheat, oilseeds, turmeric, chilies, onion, honey, jaggery (gur) and milk by using various farm machines, he added. Dr Sidhu said the trainees will also be given knowledge about agri-business, quality control, AGMARK, and loans by nationalized banks. Dr T.S. Riar and Dr Rupinder Kaur are the course coordinators while Dr Amarjit Singh and Dr Tarsem Chand are the technical coordinators of the course.

Meanwhile, another training course on “Machinery and its Safety for Different Farming Operations” will be conducted from May 19-21 for horticulture and agriculture development officers. The course will be supervised jointly by DEE and Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, PAU. The trainees will be educated about farm machinery systems, precision agriculture, vegetable and maize mechanization, hand tools for small farmers, bed planting of crops for higher productivity, spraying technology, micro-irrigation techniques for horticultural crops, and mat type paddy nursery raising. In addition, hands-on-training in the operation of happy seeder, chopper, baler, rotavator, rotary weeder, thresher, combine harvester, laser land leveler, mechanical transplanter, digger and root crop harvester will also given. Dr Sidhu further said the experts will also dwell on seed extracting machines, farm safety, and processing, grading and packaging of fruits.