CSIR-CFTRI successfully organised the training programme on “Rice Milling and Value Addition to Rice” for the Guyanese delegation under the Indian Technical and Economic Co-operation (ITEC) programme sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India during February 27 to March 18.
India has a long tradition of sharing knowledge and in 1964 it formally launched the ITEC programme which is the flagship programme for capacity building of our partner countries. Through this, India, with a sense of solidarity, would share her experiences of learning with other developing nations, building partnerships to fight poverty and backwardness and thus progress together. Building on India’s vast and rich network of governance and development related expertise available in higher educational institutions and training facilities, ITEC offers nearly 10,000 fully-funded in-person training opportunities through nearly 400 courses offered at 100+ eminent institutes in India each year along with a chance to experience the culture and hospitality of India, a press release said here.
A total of 29 Guyanese delegates attended the training programme. The course had representations from Guyana School of Agriculture, University of Guyana, Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Guyana Food Safety Authority, Guyana Marketing Cooperation, Banks DIH LTD, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Ministry of Agriculture and its allied departments/Institutes etc.
As the course is based on rice – one among the three major cereals (wheat and maize are the others), it has been termed internationally as the grain of life because it is supposed to be supported as a stable and sustainable food for half of the world’s population. From the paddy to the customer, rice is always preferred in a whole grain form and broken grains reduce the economic value. About 90% of the rice in the world is grown in South-East Asia and Southern Asia. India is contributing 35-40% of total rice trade in the past few years.
The three-week training programme consists of lectures on topics such as Grain Processing — an Overview, Production and Agronomy, Rice milling; Packaging of rice and rice products; Drying of paddy; Aging of rice, and others.
In addition to the in-campus training and multiple visits to various industries who are pioneered in rice processing, visits to cultural and heritage places in and around Mysuru were also arranged in connection with the ITEC programme.
At the valedictory of the programme, D. Sridevi Annapurna Singh, Director, CSIR-CFTRI explained about the major research works of the Institute on rice including parboiling, machine prototypes, fortification etc.
