Technology clinic on food processing for Naga entrepreneurs held

DIMAPUR — The Industries and Commerce Department and the Nagaland Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (NIDC), under the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP), organised a three-day Technology Clinic on food processing titled “Tech driven transformation in food processing”.

According to an update, it was held from September 2 to the 4th at the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management – Thanjavur (NIFTEM-T) Liaison Office, Guwahati.

The three-day technology clinic brought together 30 entrepreneurs from across Nagaland, offering a blend of technical sessions and hands-on demonstrations aimed at enhancing entrepreneurial capabilities in the food processing sector.

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Dr. Goutam Das, assistant professor at NIFTEM-T LO, Guwahati, took the Clinic 1 session, where he delivered an orientation session outlining the current landscape of food processing in India and the Northeast.

He emphasised opportunities for value addition in high-value GI crops, underutilised fruits such as wood apple, star fruit, and star gooseberry, and products derived from cassava, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and cereal-based bakery items.

Clinics 2–6 were led by Simanta Neog and Udipta Hazarika. The clinics covered pickle and tomato sauce/ketchup processing, vegetable dehydration and candy preserves; lemon products and chips (lemon squash, paste, pickles, plantain and potato chips); spice dehydration and chilli processing (chilli flakes, powdered spices); and spice-based pastes and chutneys (chilli pickle and ginger-garlic paste).

Participants received practical exposure to food-grade equipment such as electrical tray driers, steam-jacketed kettles, ball mills, vacuum sealers, fruit pulpers, and fibre extractors. The training also included guidance on preparing detailed project reports (DPRs) to support future entrepreneurial ventures.

The programme concluded with a certificate distribution ceremony, reinforcing the commitment to fostering innovation, value addition, and inclusive growth within the MSME ecosystem of the Northeast region.

RAMP is a World Bank-supported scheme of the Government of India aimed at improving access to markets, access to credit, and capacity building of MSMEs. The Technology Clinics under RAMP bring together leading experts and technocrats to equip entrepreneurs with practical skills and technical know-how needed for enterprise upgradation.