Adapting Drying Technologies for Agri-Food Market Development in India

Abstract

The adoption of new drying technologies is greatly favored by measures taken to adapt the technology to meet local needs. Drying technologies can offer opportunities for new product development, value-added features for enhanced nutrition and shelf stability for food supply management. Existing drying technologies must be modified/adapted to meet the many different properties of traditional Indian commodities and offer potential benefits for entrepreneurial developments. Much of the production and postharvest handling of products in India are done by low-income farmers in rural settings; hence, technological improvements must be based on low-cost available materials and renewable sources of energy. This article presents some of the drying developments accomplished in southern India.

Keywords:

• Agro-processing centers
• Appropriate technology transfer
• Drying
• Rural development

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Canadian International Development Agency.