JAMMU: The Department of Horticulture Jammu is imparting training to the farmers especially women farmers in the art of processing of fruits and vegetables. In this context, a one month training programme on Fruit and Vegetables Preservation concluded here today at Fruit and Vegetable Craft Centre, Chand Nagar Jammu wherein Director Horticulture Jammu, Chaman Lal Sharma was the Chief Guest.
During the programme, the Director distributed certificates among the 64 women farmers for successfully completing the one month training course in the presence of Chief Canning and Processing Instructor, Gul Sayed and Assistant Director, Satish Kumar.
While addressing a large gathering of women farmers, the Director urged them to come forward and avail incentives under different schemes of the department for setting up of small fruit and vegetables processing units. He asked them to form Self Help Groups (SHGâs), associate with the Horticulture Department and assured that the department will help them in setting up of Micro Food Processing units for the value addition of fruit and vegetable products which will not only provide employment opportunities, but also become self reliant and can play an important role in enhancing the family income.
The training was imparted to the participants for the processing of fruits and vegetables to convert it into value added products such as Jam, Pickle, Preserve, Candy, Sauces, Squash, Jelly's etc and more than 2000 budding entrepreneurs have been trained by the department thereby exploiting entrepreneurship by establishing more than 150 micro processing units by the beneficiaries with the assistance of the department.
The participants also appealed to the women farmers to get themselves trained in the art of fruit and vegetables preservation and set up small processing units with the assistance of the department and also thanked the department for providing such training courses.