Salient Achievements

Salient Achievements

During the last five years (2018–2023), 218 technologies/machines have been developed; 75 technologies have been licensed or commercialised; 41,540 prototypes were manufactured, and 1,100 entrepreneurs were trained.
Training of rural youth for establishment of agricultural machinery custom hiring centres. During 2014–21, a total of 1,261 rural youth were trained and supported for establishment of custom hiring centres by ICAR-CIAE, as against 255 during 2007–14.
Established about 300 agro-processing centres for employment generation, value addition, and capacity development of entrepreneurs in food processing and post-harvest management in production catchments.
Developed protocols for shelf life, safe storage, milling outturn, and indicative norms for procurement of major pulses on behalf of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.
Evaluated losses during storage of wheat and rice in FCI and CWC warehouses for three years; the study’s recommendations were implemented by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, w.e.f. 01.01.2022.
Catalysed the establishment of 45 food testing laboratories during 2014–21 for the very first time.
Developed a sugarcane bud chip settling transplanter and licensed it to three farm machinery manufacturers. The machine has been included under the Tamil Nadu state subsidy programme, with more than 52 units sold in India and abroad during 2020–21.
The Makhana popping machine developed in 2013–14 has become very popular and eliminated drudgery in makhana popping. Three private licensees are manufacturing this machine, and five value-added products have been developed. Marketing of makhana and its value-added products grew by about 40% in the past three years.
Developed technology for accelerated retting of jute, saving 50% water and 10 days of time. The improved fibre quality increased income by Rs. 4,500 per ton of jute fibre. Commercialised as NINFET-Sathi through an MoA with Quality Export and Jute Corporation of India, the technology is popular among jute growers in West Bengal.
Provided mechanization solutions to combat crop residue burning in northern India. Distribution of 56,150 Happy Seeders and related machines under a Central Sector Scheme resulted in a 51.9% reduction in straw burning events in 2019 compared to 2016.
Assessment of Post-Harvest Losses for 45 major crops/commodities at national level was conducted twice and are being used for policy making in the country.
Developed technology for commercial utilization of cotton stalks as renewable energy (briquettes and pellets). Farmers earn an additional Rs. 3,000 per hectare. Thirty enterprises in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region now run successfully with an annual turnover of Rs. 120 crore.
Developed 3–4 layer face masks with excellent breathability and high filtration efficiency using engineered double cotton fabric.
Established India’s first nanocellulose plant at ICAR–CIRCOT, Mumbai.
Standardized lac production technologies for hosts such as Flemingia semialata, Ber, and Calliandra calothyrsus. The latter was found suitable for both strains of the lac insect Kerria lacca.
Developed intercropping models of Flemingia semialata with vegetable crops for both summer and winter seasons to produce lac along with other crops for better land utilization.
Established a pilot plant for producing protein isolate powder at ICAR–CIPHET, Ludhiana.
Organized Technology & Machinery Demonstration Mela annually through AICRP centres under SMD coordination.
ICAR–CIPHET conducted three national-level studies on harvest and post-harvest losses, warehouse management, and food grain storage losses. Adoption of recommendations reduced food grain losses by 2% between 2006 and 2014 (worth Rs. 9,900 crore), and annual savings for FCI reached Rs. 539.4 crore by 2020.
ICAR–CIPHET established 293 Agro-Processing Centres (APCs) at production catchments for primary processing. Each APC generates about Rs. 6 lakh income and provides regular employment for four persons annually.
ICAR–CIPHET developed post-harvest machinery, gadgets, and value-added processes, including the Mini Dal Mill (3 hp) for pulse milling. This technology generated 7.38 lakh man-days for manufacturers and 29.53 lakh for operators.
ICAR–CIPHET established an automated fumigation chamber for grapes at Sahyadri Farms, Maharashtra, and developed an SO₂–CO₂ fumigation protocol to control fruit fly infestations for exports to New Zealand and Australia.
ICAR–CIPHET signed an MoU with the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, for a 3-year, Rs. 8.58 crore project on the storage of major pulses (moong, urd, chana, arhar, and masoor) through 10 collaborative centres across states.