Imphal: Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh said that providing vocational training to the youth will pave the way for them to become entrepreneurs and job providers instead of job seekers.
The Union Minister was speaking at the inaugural function of the “Livelihood Enhancement of Rural Farmers Through Agro and Spice Product Processing and Packaging Unit,” here on Friday.
The inaugural function was organised by the Centre for Rural Empowerment and Development Organization (CREDO) Manipur under the sponsorship of North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.
Dr Ranjan also commended the step of opening the processing and packaging unit with an objective to benefit the local farmers who are into the traditional mode of cultivation, harvesting and preservation system by inducting new and advanced technologies helping them to convert the primary products into value added products.
Dr. Arun Kumar Sarma, Director General, NECTAR, who attended the programme as President, highlighted the objective of the project.
Dr. Sarma further said that so far NECTAR has supported different projects in the northeast region. As a technology base agency under the Ministry of Science and Technology, NECTAR always supported new technologies, tools & equipment to enhance production and quality of the producers.
This is the most important project initiated by CREDO as a part of the entrepreneurship and capacity building program to support the farmers group or farm producers individually etc, he contended.
CREDO Secretary, Anand Wangkhem, who is also an agropreneur, said that supporting the rural farmers and enhancing their processing skills by providing new technology intervention; increasing the quality of products; providing marketing linkage to the farmers and doubling income to the farmers are some of the objectives for the newly launched centre.
In this processing unit, Anand said, CREDO will provide a drying facility, peeling and washing line, slicing, grinding and packaging.
More than 250 farmers attended the programme.
