The First National Steering Committee Meeting of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, sponsored a project ‘Study on determining storage losses of pulses stored in warehouses and to recommend norms for loss/gain during long-term storage’ was organised at ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur on 6th – 7th May, 2024.
The Chief Guest Dr. S. N. Jha, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Engineering) ICAR, emphasized increasing the availability of pulses by minimizing post-harvest losses. He also highlighted enhancing protein utilization efficiency of pulses, so that less quantity of pulses is needed to meet protein requirements. Dr. Jha urged the development of efficient types of machinery for pre and post-production operations of pulses.
Dr. G. P. Dixit, Director, ICAR-IIPR, briefed about the role of ICAR-IIPR in the enhanced production of pulses.
Dr. K. Guite (Economic Advisor, Dept of Consumers Affairs) stated that the project had been funded to develop procurement and storage norms for pulses. He also highlighted the role of DoCA in maintaining the buffer stock of pulses to stabilize the market prices and ensure the availability of pulses.
Dr. Nachiket, Kotwaliwale, Director, ICAR-Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology, Ludhiana, emphasised about the national importance of the study in view of storage of pulses.
Dr. K. Narsaiah, Assistant Director General (Process Engineering), ICAR urged minimizing post-production losses, quality of raw grains for good quality products, and overall improvement in the availability of pulses.
Dr. Anil Rai, Assistant Director General (ICT) emphasised moving towards digitalized agriculture through sensor-based monitoring systems.
Later Dr. Guite also held a meeting with the office bearers of the Kanpur Dal Millers Association at ICAR-IIPR, Kanpur.
Millers were educated on the nutritional composition and potential edible usage of pulse milling byproducts, including protein and fiber-rich biscuits made from pigeon pea milling byproducts.
A total of 12 pulse millers participated in the meeting.
(Source: ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur)
