Onion farmers in Perambalur district are urging for more efficient utilization of the Common Food Processing Incubation Centre (CFPIC). This was launched in 2017 in Chettikulam village, aimed at producing value-added products of shallots such as onion powder, onion paste, vacuum-packed peeled onion and onion flakes.
Some sources say the machinery installed at the center by Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFn), Thanjavur, has been grossly under-utilized due to issues with round-the-clock power supply and shortcomings in marketing of the processed products. The processing center was attuned to 'Mission Onion Programme; a concept to double farmers' income by 2022, by the IIFPT, which functions under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
Since the start of operations, 44 tons of shallots and 15 tons of garlic have been processed. The center has a capacity to process 300 kg shallots per hour, and there were possibilities for scaling up the production multifold with the available machinery, according to official sources.
Source: thehindu.com
