Sustainable Innovative Food Technologies, Agribusiness to develop new products supported by Industry, Experts, which lead development. Any Franchise aspirant with entrepreneurial spirit, Reconstruction of Rural India by redefining the rural Education System. Education & Health sectors have become Industry now. Innovation, Invention and Integration to discuss the Challenges and opportunities. Promote Government Policies, Networking opportunities to transformation of ingredients produced by farmers into value added food products using state of the art equipment and new technology. Connect potential inventers and partners, Exploring the sustainable solutions. Conduct trainings and awareness campaigns on the impact of climate change to food security, nutrition and human health. Children and youth are not only victims of climate change, they are also valuable contributors to climate action in the context of adaptation and resilience. They are agents of change, entrepreneurship and innovations. A climate safe future is with the youth and children.
Food systems governance can be considered as a value itself for sustainable diets, as implies a way of designing the “architecture” needed to achieve its goals. This means that food governance allows, among other things, an appropriate environment for food systems to transform in order to perform in a sustainable way. Sustainable diets need a context specific approach in terms of the socio-cultural characteristics at different levels, food governance represents a value that can help achieving its objectives focusing on a national/regional scale, meaning local structures of food governance to improve the access to sustainable diets.
How food governance and sustainable diets are related, especially since food governance plays a role in supporting the socio-cultural dimension of sustainable diets. This highlights the question regarding how power is managed by different institutions immersed in food systems and the importance of focusing our attention not only in national/regional levels of governance, but also in how local levels organize their knowledge management and decision-making processes to improve the access to sustainable diets. Considering the above, that future research should be focused on continue exploring the value food governance represents for sustainable diets and how the process of governing agriculture can contribute to understand that sector beyond food production for commercialization and visualize new opportunities as a relevant actor both in health and environmental sectors.
The following priorities are indispensable for enabling effective collective action for agri-food systems governance and transformation:
As the global Agri- food systems face challenges to feed an ever-growing global population, resilient cereals like millets provide an affordable and nutrious option. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring 2023 as the international year of millets. The resolution considers the urgent need to raise awareness of millet’s climate- resilient and nutritional benefits. Millets can play an important role in the livelihood of the masses and contribute to the collective efforts of empowering small land holding farmers, achieving sustainable development, eliminating hunger, adapting to climate change, promoting bio- diversity and transforming agri-food systems.
To ensure the good quality of raw material, big data comes into play. Helps in increasing the yield of the crop, optimal management strategies for getting the best crop and livestock production under a variety of environmental situations. Throughout the food supply chain from farm to fork, almost a third of the food for human consumption is lost or wasted. With the arrival of social media, the availability of consumer preferences likes and dislikes increased. Apps like Snapchat and Instagram acts as status projecting flatforms for people.
The waste streams from the food sector may be turned into value added functional ingredients, a significant benefit of employing biopolymers to manufacture packaging materials that decreases waste, promote sustainability and improve economic viability. Many of these biproducts are high in polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and other functional components such as antimicrobials, antioxidants and pigments serve as a good source of value-added ingredients.
The Argo economics development philosophy must evolve to allow for the coexistence of conventional and alternative agriculture, with the goal of equalising the opportunity. Mini scale processing and utilisation of food products through a short supply chain actually help the small producers balance their resilience over the competition from bulk producer.Balancing the demand and supply is the challenge
Policies, investments and programmes related to agriculture and food systems can play a strong role in preventing and reducing malnutrition, provided that they are conceived in a nutrition-sensitive way. Being nutrition-sensitive means incorporating nutrition objectives, concerns and considerations to enable communities to achieve food and nutrition security - avoiding negative impacts on nutrition. Food production; food processing and storage; food trade and marketing; consumer demand, food preparation and preferences reduces the inequalities for food security and nutrition.
Food production encompasses a range of activities - and relevant actors - including rural and urban crop production; livestock rearing at small, medium and large scale; fisheries; and forestry reduces the inequalities for food security and nutrition.
Food production also requires managing the underpinning natural resource base (land, water, soil, plants seeds, animal breeds etc.) and supporting infrastructures. Food production is critical for sustaining rural livelihoods and shaping - positively or negatively - natural environments and landscapes.
Prof. Vijaya Khader
Community engagement for inclusive rural transformation and gender equality (my experience)
Prof. (Mrs.) Vijaya Khader, Former Dean Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, born on 31st October 1946 in Avanigadda, Andhra Pradesh, has been actively engaged in creating awareness about nutrition, health, and livelihood security through multidimensional education for over 45 years. As a distinguished nutritionist has made very significant contributions in India through a variety of approaches including awareness programs, developing education materials, and community reach-out programs for the nutritional improvement of vulnerable groups of the population. The major focus of her efforts is to empower women and adult girls through viable technologies to increase household income and ensure thereby livelihood security.
The impact of research On Women Empowerment, Product Development, transfer of technology for livelihood security & prevention of malnutrition in different sectors of the population has benefited society at large.
Several technologies such as Sorghum Food Enterprise, Geriatric Foods, Malted Infant Foods, High Fiber Vermicelli, Preservation of Palmyra Palm Fruit, Mushroom cultivation, Value addition to Fruits and Red Palm Oil, Horse gram and Soya Products developed for socio-economic empowerment of rural families. Three fisher woman from Kerala earning Rs.3,000-15,000/m through fish vending, fish trade, and clam processing; two from Karnataka earning Rs.30,000-40,000/m through the dried fish market and fish vending to establish ice plant; one from Andhra Pradesh and one from Tamil Nadu earning Rs. 12,000-20,000/m through net making with the constant technical support from concerned fishery colleges.
The promotion of a malt-based small-scale food industry not only provides an opportunity for rural women to develop entrepreneurship and employment but also provides food and nutritional security. Processed horse gram flour and soybean flour were used to prepare low-cost products namely RAGINA and EPRF. Simple home-scale processing methods like germination, roasting, and puffing were used to improve the nutrient content. The studies on mushrooms revealed that spawn multiplication can be done by women as a cooperative venture and mushroom cultivation can be undertaken as an income-generating activity. Red palm Oil is beneficial to overcome Vitamin A deficiency, suggested to the State Govt. Effect of iron-enriched chewing gum consumed by anemic adolescent boys & girls helped to improve the Iron Nutritional Status. Increased household income of women who participated in the Dairy program in Kenya, revealed increased intake of Protective foods and Improved Nutritional Status of the family. Work on fisherwomen is Highlighted on the global website, http://genderaquafish.org.
Skill-oriented training programs for women resulted in 41 families establishing mushroom cultivation in Guntur, Prakasham, and Krishna Districts of Andhra Pradesh;10 families taken fruit and vegetable processing units ;3 families adopted the technology of dehulling jowar and preparing value-added products;10 self-help groups have been organized at Karnataka and Kerala are mainly involved in various income generating activities.
Iron Fortified Chewing Gum is very useful in improving the iron nutritional status of anemic women and children. Mrs. Laura Bush from the USA had a round table conference with Mrs. Khader on food processing, income-generating activities, and gender issues.
Presented a paper at Cairo (Musa Coast) on Combating malnutrition among vulnerable groups – SDG-2, end hunger, achieve food security, and promote sustainable agriculture with FAO support.
Developed Food Technology Website: at P.G. level with the financial support by Ministry of Human Resourse Developmenthttps://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/Home/ViewSubject?catid=15
Delivered three-minute Nutrition information in 18 programs through the Namaste Telangana channel.
Established the second college of Home Science at Bapatla under ICAR, and served as First Principal for 10 years. Written 4 University level textbooks, regularly used by students and faculty members of Foods & Nutrition, Dietetics, Food Science and Technology, receiving Royalty to date. Started Inter-faculty P.G. Program on Food Science & Technology at Hyderabad and U.G. Program, B.Tech. Food Science at Bapatla. Modified & revised the number of P.G. courses in Agriculture, Veterinary & Home Science. Prepared lecture modules on P.G. Food Technology for worldwide availability is very challenging.
Changes made in the faculty of Home Science to attain the status of professional program. E.C. Member of Women in Science and Engineering, Member of INWES a Canada-based international network. Convener (President) of the Indian Women Scientist Association.Full Member, Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World.
1984 - Housewives in the community at Bapatla, Andhrapradesh closed liquer shops when they have explained the ill effects of drinking on the family under supervision through NSS activities.
Vegetable women venders contributed supplementary income to help their families to improve livelihood security.She established the Center of Advanced Studies in Foods and Nutrition, only one in the country serving as a National Resource & Training Centre. She completed 22 independent research projects supported by national and international organizations focusing on empowering rural, farm, tribal, fisherwomen, and adolescent girls through social engineering and training programs to increase household income. She served member of the State Council for Foods & Nutrition.
Research advisory committee member NAARM; Consortium Adviser for NAIP on Sustainable Rural Livelihoods through Enhanced farming system, Member Indo U.S. Agricultural Knowledge Initiative project; High-Level Committee Member for Strengthening Teaching, Research, and Extension Activities of Rajendra Agricultural University, Bihar; Peer Review Team Member for Accreditation of Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur; Quinquennial Review Team Member of Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering & Technology, Ludhiana; PRT Member for the Accreditation of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana; Eminent Fellow Scholars Academic And Scientific Society; Member Asian Fisheries Society. Chairperson of the Task Force Committee on Biotechnology-based program for Women. Member Technical Expert Group for National Program on Climate Change and Human Health. The impact of research On Women Empowerment, Product Development, transfer of technology for livelihood security & prevention of malnutrition in different sectors of the population has benefited the society at large through constant intervention through education.
She received M.Sc. from S.V University with Mary Clark Memorial Scholarship, Ph.D. (CSIR Fellow), and Post-Doctoral (CSIR) Fellowship from CFTRI, Mysore. She established the Center of Advanced Studies in Foods and Nutrition, only one in the country serving as a National Resource & Training Centre. She completed 22 independent research projects supported by national and international organizations focusing on empowering rural, farm, tribal, fisherwomen, and adolescent girls through social engineering and training programs to increase household income. She served member of the State Council for Foods & Nutrition.
Changes made in the Faculty of Home Science to attain the status of professional program included revamping the U.G. program into 4-year degree program with specialization to provide entrepreneurship qualities and handson experience. Students are placed in related industries or institutes, facilitating employment opportunities. Rural Home Science Work Experience Program was introduced to develop human resources in the rural sector with a focus on women's empowerment by addressing community problems and constraints. Many short term skill oriented programs were offered to school dropouts, NGOs, A.P. Tribal welfare schools, and self-help groups. Received patents for two equipments a Low-Cost Ice Cream Freezer for village-level use and a Multi-Purpose Fresh Fish Vending and Display Table to reduce drudgery and ensure hygienic handling of fish, licensed the technology to a women entrepreneur twice.
She started inter faqcuilty P.G. Program in Food Science and Technology by leveraging the academic strengths of the faculties of Agriculture, Veterinary, and Home Science. Written four university-level textbooks that continue to earn royalties. Visited Michigan State University as an FAO Fellow for advanced studies in Food Science and Nutrition and examined educational systems at several universities in the USA and UK for potential collaborations. She also visited Egypt, the Netherlands, and Italy to study agriculture and extension activities beneficial to farmers. Participated in many international conferences as a lead speaker, panelist, and keynote speaker.
As a member of the Board of Management of A.N.G.R.A.U., she offered valuable advice to university authorities. Her work on fisherwomen is featured on the global website run by the Asian Fisheries Society. She chaired the Task Force Committee on Biotechnology-based programs for women. Principal Investigator for ICT-enabled higher education on producing e-Content for M.Sc. Food Technology funded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development after retirement. She served as a subject expert for the online review of Biotechnology Ignite Grant proposals for early-stage funding through BIG, BIRAC. She was a resource person in a Tutor briefing workshop on the ENACT professional course on nutrition education organized by FAO and a technical expert for the National Program on Climate Change and Human Health to strengthen climate-sensitive health areas like nutrition and food security. Member of the Global Forum on Food Security & Nutrition, a Fellow of the Society for Promotion of Oil Palm Research & Development, Co-Chair of Agro-food Processing & Rural Development, and an advisor to the Ladies Wing FTCCI. She developed brochures, flashcards, and flip cards in regional languages on health and nutrition.
Her efforts in promoting malt-based scale food industries provided rural women with opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment, as well as food and nutritional security. Played a key role in transferring technologies to clients through radio, TV programs, CDs, popular articles, print media, group discussions, and training programs.
Based on her work on mushrooms, the Commissioner of Horticulture issued a G.O. on unit cost Rs. 70,000 for oyster mushroom cultivation .Implemented from 1994. Served on a high-level committee to strengthen teaching, research, and extension activities at Rajendra Agricultural University, Bihar, PUSA, Samastipur. She demonstrated that horse gram commonly used for cattle feed, could be diversified for human consumption. Her work showed that amylase-rich supplementary foods preferred by mothers and Anganwadi workers significantly reduced Grade IV and Grade III malnutrition in preschool children. Introducing red palm oil helped overcome vitamin A deficiency. Her work on mushrooms, product development, technology transfer for livelihood security and reduced malnutrition in adolescent girls, pregnant women, lactating mothers and preschool Children benefits society and reveals the pivotal role of education.