Making convenience foods better and healthier through R&D, and creating market opportunities would be the focus of a two-day global symposium on ready-to-eat (RTE) foods to be held here. The symposium is being organised from April 25-27 by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) along with Assocom India.
The meet would address issues including demands for innovative meal solutions for a busy lifestyle, role of food science and biotechnology in RTE, and quality control and packaging to ensure product quality.
The role of micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises would also be highlighted as vital in addressing issues such as improving peoples’ livelihood opportunities and increasing their participation in the agro-food industry, according to an Icrisat release.
It offers opportunities for people from the food and allied industries and the academia to know the market potential of the RTE foods segment, opportunities for R&D, entrepreneurship, among other things.
“This global symposium on ready-to-eat foods is a step towards exploring new markets and creating demand for a wider diversity of higher-value foodstuffs and in reducing poverty by fostering agro-enterprises,” said Icrisat director general William Dar.
He added that this was consistent with the Icrisat’s inclusive market-oriented development strategy, which focuses on helping the farming poor to access markets to increase their food supplies and incomes, and hence create a dynamic progression from subsistence towards market-oriented agriculture.
The symposium is being supported by the Ministry of Food Processing.