Krishi Vigyan Kendra Peren inaugurated a Common Facility Centre for Farmer Producer Organisations on March 25.
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DIMAPUR — Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Peren successfully inaugurated a Common Facility Centre (CFC) and processing unit for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) from four blocks of the Peren district at the KVK Peren office on Wednesday.
According to a press release issued by KVK Peren, the programme was sponsored under the TSP Project on “Establishment of Common Facility Centre (CFC)/Processing Unit for Value addition and enhancing shelf life of Agricultural products for marketing through FPO”.
Dr. L Babita Devi, Chief Technical Officer (Animal Science), ex-Nodal Officer of FPO, and principal investigator of the project, chaired the programme and gave the keynote address. She briefed about the activities of all four FPOs since their inception. Dr. K L Meena, principal scientist and head of KVK Peren, gave the welcome address.
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Sizin Rentta, Extra Assistant Commissioner (EAC) of Jalukie, attended the function as the special guest and appreciated the KVK Peren team for the initiative taken, which marks a significant step towards strengthening the agricultural ecosystem. He encouraged the FPOs to utilise the facility for processing and value addition for fetching more profit.
Dr. I Shakuntala, Dean of CoVSc & AH, Jalukie, as the guest of honour of the programme, congratulated the KVK Peren team for successfully implementing the CFC unit and advised the FPOs to undergo training for the smooth operation and maintenance of the unit. She also highlighted the importance of an FSSAI licence for the marketing of value-added products.
Dr. H Kalita, Head of Regional Centre (HoRC) at ICAR-Nagaland Centre, as the president of the programme, encouraged the FPOs to follow the operational guidelines for the CFC and maintain proper utilisation records. He motivated the participants for the initial development of the unit for value-added products with proper packaging for widespread advertisement.
During the inaugural programme, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of the officials, board of directors, and shareholders of the FPOs, followed by the handover of the processing machinery and consumables to the respective four FPOs (FPO Peren, FPO Tening, FPO Athibung, and FPO Jalukie) in the Peren district.
Altogether, 202 participants, including 191 FPO members, CEOs, accountants, and 11 officials representing all four blocks of the Peren district, attended the programme.