CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING AND
MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING
Night meeting on CAP and MAP was conducted on 29/11/23 to inform the importance of packaging.
Controlled atmosphere (CA) storage has been demonstrated to be a technique that can help meet these consumer demands by substantially extending the commercial life of some crops when treated properly
Pomegranate are the fruits that utilize controlled environment storage which is one of the major crop in Ajjawara.
Controlled environment packages allow sensitive goods to reach markets determined by balancing convenience and economics.
Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is based on altering the composition of gases in contact with a food by replacing the air in a sealed food package by strictly controlled gaseous mixtures, containing carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or others.
FARMERS’ PRODUCER ORGANISATION
On 23/11/2023, a meeting regarding FPO was conducted to bring awareness about the uses and benefits of forming an FPO also the government support given for the functioning of these FPOs.
The farmers were explained about the concept of Farmer Producer Organizations. The process of formation of FPO,minimum number of members and benefits such as reducing the cost of production, supply of inputs at reasonable prices, dissemination of market information, dissemination of technology, finance and insurance facilities, storage of produce, processing, brand building, export, etc., were
informed to the farmers. There is also financial assistance provided for the formation of FPO from NABARD, SFAC, and NCDC. The farmers also showed interest in this topic and also expressed their wish to form an FPO.
AZOLLA CULTIVATION AND ITS IMPORTANCE
We conducted night meeting about Azolla cultivation and its importance on 1/12/23.Around 40 farmers participated.
Azolla is a free floating water fern. It’s kind of green fodder grown on the water surface. It has many nutrient benefits when compared to other
fodders. Apart from this, it has a nature of fixing the nitrogen in the rice crop field. Azolla fodder is an excellent alternate feed supplement for livestock, poultry, and fish. This a boon for dairy farmers because; it drastically reduces the feed cost and result in increasing milk yield.
We informed the farmers about azolla cultivation benefits:
• Azolla possess high protein content, amino
acids, vitamin, minerals (like magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus).
• It is highly productive plant and it doubles the biomass in 4-10 days period depending upon conditions.
A meeting was conducted on 1/12/23 about silage making as the domestication of the cows was major next to agriculture in the village. We created awareness about the importance of
silage and reason for preparing it.
The usage of silage as the feed for the animals leads to the increased yield of milk. The nutritional value increases on fermenting the fodder.
The green fodder is cut into pieces of 3-5 inch and is filled manually in a silo. This pit is covered completely by polythene sheet and left for the
anaerobic digestion. This facilitates the fermentation and partial digestion of the complex material and increases the digestibility and
palatability of the fodder. After a month this is fed to the animals as feed.
This can be a great idea for preserving the fodder for longer time than drying the fodder.
The information was given to the farmers
regarding this and was helpful for the
farmers too.
A night meeting was conducted about the importance of kitchen gardening on 3rd December.
Kitchen garden is the growing of fruits and vegetables at the backyard of house by using kitchen waste water. Otherwise called as Home garden or Nutrition garden or Kitchen gardening or Vegetable gardening.
Kitchen garden or nutrition garden has gained its importance in recent days as it meets the basic needs of vegetables and fruits for a family.
So a night meeting on the topic was conducted. Importance of Kitchen Garden, advantages and principles of kitchen garden were discussed in
the meeting.
