Chandigarh, Feb 10: President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said the global food trade has undergone revolutionary changes and they have to bring the benefits of these changes – and the potential of this trade – to every khet and every kisaan.
Addressing the first convocation of the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) at Sonepat, he said, “Our determined and committed farmers have produced food for our country; they have it in them to produce for the world. In the services sector, India has taken advantage of its enormous human talent and lower cost structures to build world-class industries. There is no reason why we cannot replicate this in agriculture and in food and agro-based industries. Indian farm products – whether rice, milk, fruits and vegetables, or even chillies – can flood supermarkets and feed households across the globe. This can help us create numerous employment opportunities for our young people - in cold storages and in preservation, in food processing and along the food supply chain.”
The President said, "As a society and as a people we are obligated to make life better for our farmers and to free them from the fickleness of nature and of weather patterns – and, to the degree possible, of the unpredictability of demand and supply. This is the resolve of the government, and it has instituted policies and programmes to further this. Use of science and technology along the food chain is essential to these programmes. And this is where institutions such as NIFTEM and those who graduate from here will play a vital role."
Mr Kovind said as social habits change and as nuclear families emerge in larger numbers, more so in the cities, demand for packaged and ready-to-eat food products is rising in India. The challenge is to maintain quality, safety and labelling standards for food and ingredients that are up to global bench-marks. It is to make certain that packaged foods promote both convenience and health. And that they keep alive the nutritious grains and traditional food items that can be found in every state of India. 
"It is for the food industry to innovate and find easy-to-use solutions to the epidemic of lifestyle diseases in our country. And we have to do all this while being conscious of building our own brands, especially for traditional and nutritive food items that have been the pride of India for centuries and can reach far greater consumers at home and abroad," he added.
The President also presented degree to students on this occasion. UNI
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