Value-added local products can unlock rural economic growth: KAU VC

Strengthening efforts to transform Kerala’s local produce into value-added products and market them effectively can significantly increase farmers’ income and boost the rural economy, Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) Vice-Chancellor T. Sajitha Rani said.

He was inaugurating a training program organized by KAU Agribusiness Incubation Center (ABI) in collaboration with Palakkad Poverty Alleviation Programme, here on Thursday. The Vice-Chancellor said that small-scale entrepreneurs, farmers and women entrepreneurs in rural areas should play a leading role in creating value-added products from locally available resources and bringing them to the market. He said such initiatives would create sustainable employment opportunities and improve rural livelihoods.

He also stated that KAU Agricultural Business Incubator plays a pivotal role in taking Kerala’s indigenous products to global markets by leveraging modern technologies, quality standards and effective market linkages.

The program was chaired by K. Surendra Gopal, Dean of Vellanikkara College of Agriculture. As part of the programme, the Vice-Chancellor also flagged off the sixth export consignment of value-added food products processed at the KAU Joint Incubation Facility (CIF) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The shipment marks the resumption of exports after a temporary interruption in cargo movement across the Strait of Hormuz due to conflict in the West Asian region.

KP Sudheer, Professor and Chairman, KAU Agribusiness Incubator, stated that the main objective of the Incubation Center is to increase the income of farmers and entrepreneurs while creating a stronger global presence for Kerala’s value-added agricultural products. Poverty Alleviation Program beneficiaries, entrepreneurs, farmers and other stakeholders participated in the training programme.