Rourkela, Dec 21: The Department of Food Process Engineering at the NIT Rourkela successfully conducted a three-day training program from 18-20 December 2023, officials said on Thursday.

The training programme titled "Empowering Communities through Millet Processing" was organised for Master Trainers (Industry Professionals) and was sponsored by the Food Industry Capacity & Skill Initiative (FICSI) under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Working professionals from Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Self Help Groups (SHGs) and other food industries participated in this training workshop that was strategically designed to provide hands-on experience in millet processing and value-added products covering Composite Flour, Bakery Products, and Extruded (the process of making a shaped object) Products.

The workshop commenced on 18th December with an inaugural event attended by Ankur Chauhan (Senior Manager, FICSI, New Delhi) as a Guest of Honour. Chauhan underlined the significance of training for master trainers in order to improve the skills and knowledge of farmers, agricultural extension agents, or community members, in millet-related practices and millet-processing techniques.

Chief Guest, Dr. Rohan Dhiman (Registrar NIT Rourkela) spoke about the tremendous importance of millet in diets, quality, safety of the food and said, "This training is poised to contribute to the broader goal of promoting healthier dietary choices and fostering community development through sustainable food practices."

He further pointed out the need to bridge the gap between lab research and field application. HoD of the Department Prof. Parag Prakash Sutar also stated the vision of the department and its faculty and said that these kinds of initiatives align with the department's commitment to advancing sustainable and nutritious food processing practices.

Prof. Dr. Madhuresh Dwivedi, Prof. Chandrakant Genu Dalbhagat, and Prof. R.C. Pradhan from the Food Process Engineering Department were the coordinators of this training.

Day one of the session further had lectures on 'Processing of Millets' by Prof. Md. Khalid Gul and 'Nutritional Composition and the Importance of Millet for Human Health' by Prof. Winny Routray. Participants also got hands-on experience with the cold extrusion where they prepared vermicelli and pasta with millet.

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Day two of the training had a lecture on the topic “Bakery Technology Using Millet as a Raw Ingredient” by Samuel Jaddu focusing on future scopes in the bakery industry. Following this session, the participants experienced an exposure visit to the Bakery Development Laboratory at the department. Providing some more insightful learnings, the third-day training programme concluded with a practical session on the preparation of expanded snacks followed by an evaluation test of participants.

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