CHANDIGARH: The Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST) and Panjab University have come together with three premier Central agencies to develop an agricultural technology with an aim at enhancing farmers' income, promote crop diversification and protect environment from the menace of paddy straw burning. The brand new initiative will develop technologies such as value-added products from tomatoes and anthocyanin-rich wheat. It will also develop technology for enhancing shelf life of fruits and curbing stubble burning. After laboratory success and validation, the technology will be used in the industry for commercial exploitation.
The strategic initiative is to support the food processing industry and promote start-ups in the agri food sector. There is a need to develop enterprises around the technology. The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) would help the state in setting up the secondary agriculture entrepreneurial network for early translation from primary to secondary agriculture, Punjab Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh said. Department of Biotechnology Secretary, Dr Renu Swarup said, “For the first time with BIRAC's support, a state-specific call had come forward to support start-ups in Punjab, particularly in the secondary agriculture domain. These would be supported financially as well as technically by providing mentorship, incubation space and instrumentation support.”
The project will also assess the unmet needs of the agri-food industry and develop technological solutions for the agricultural sector. The project will validate technology and provide support for its commercialisation. The multi-agency efforts are led by PSCST. Other partners are National Agri Food Biotechnology Institution (NABI), Centre for Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (CIAB), and BioNest-Panjab University as the partner institutions.
