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Some New & Viable Prospects

Some New & Viable Prospects
 

(A)VEGETABLE DRYER
It is a Single phase electric run machine independent of weather conditions for drying of fruits, vegetables (i/c Leafy Vegetables like spinach, Duku, Nigro, Simrayo) spices etc. It is useful for drying fruits & vegetables.
 

  • Capacity : 100 kgs/ batch
  • Drying Time : 8-10 hrs per batch.
  • Power Consumption : 3KWH

Objectives:
To store vegetables in in perfect consumable conditions for a longer duration without undergoing any spoilage

Why Drying of Vegetables?

  • Available as seasonal surplus. 
  •  Wastage due to improper storage 
  •  Wastage due to improper processing 
  •  Glut in the market during growing season. 
  •  Non availability during non growing seasons.

ADVANTAGES:

  • Vegetables can be dried and preserved for upto one year with texture & taste close to the original.
  • No loss of vitamins & minerals (except vitamin-’C’)
  • Dried vegetables occupies less space for storage and ease of transportation.
  • Can have off season vegetables.

PROCESS OF VEGETABLE DRYING:

  •  Cleaning/ Washing & Cutting to appropriate sizes.
  • Blanching : Cleaned & chopped articles are steamed or boiled for few minutes, taken out and immediately soaked in cold water to prevent cooking.
  • Drying(Dehydrating) in the drier till crispy
  • Storage in Airtight containers.
  • Rehydrating (Soaking in warm water) before cooking.
(B) Cottage Scale Soy Paneer Unit

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(i) SOY PANEER

  • Soyabean is one of the major source of vegetable oil and plant protein in the world.
  • It contains 40% good quality protein, 23% carbohydrate, 20% oil . Soya protein is a proven cholesterol lowering agent
  • Soypaneer is used as a vegetarian food ingredient
  • It is an appropriate alternative to milk-paneer
  • From 1 kg of soybean 1.5 Kg of soypaneer can be obtained
  • Soypaneer contains 14% protein 8%fat & 3% carbohydrate.
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(ii) SOY MILK :
Soymilk is a creamy like product made by soaking and grinding of soybean in hot water It contains 3.5 - 4% protein and is a very economical product compared to cow-milk. It is cholesterol free and highly digestible and nutritious. It is an alternative of dairy and meat-centered diet.

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(iii)SOY FLOUR:
One of the simplest ways of using soybean in human diet is in the form of soyflour in combination with wheat, maize, gram or rice flour. About 10 to 15% soyflour could be blended with other flours for better nutritional and economic advantages.

Well packed soyflour can be stored for 3 months without any deterioration of quality.

Soyflour contains 40% Protein, 22% Carbohydrate, 20% fat, 5% fibre & 3% minerals

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C) CHARCAOL BRIQUETTE MAKING
Charcoal Briquette is made from crop residues and cow dung. In the scarcity of wood charcoal, charcoal briquettes could be a viable alternative.

 

Step 1: Changing crop residues to char by burning it in charring kiln.

Step 2: Briquette making process in briquette machine where 10 parts of charcoal is mixed with 1 part of cow dung, put inside the hopper and the machine is operated. The charcoal briquettes are collected at one end and dried before use.

Power requirement: 5HP

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Charcoal Briquetting Machine



 

ALLIED ACTIVITIES:

  • Establishment of Seed processing Units With Cold storage facility at Majhitar & Jorethang.
  • Establishment of Bio-Fertilizer production Unit at Majhitar
  • Establishment of Seed Testing Unit at Majhitar.
  • Establishment/ maintainence of Farm infrastructures / Seed Stores at various locations
  • Establishment of Centre if Excellence at Nazitam & Mellidara
  • Other Infrastructural developmental works.
  • Trials and Demonstration of new Agricultural Implements.
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 VLW Office cum Quarter at Melli Aching                            Guest House at Lachen



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Seed Processing Units at Jorethang



 

STRESS AREAS.

  • Since in Sikkim, most of the cultivatable areas are of steep slopes with narrow terraces where power tillers are also not possible and most of the cultivation tools been designed for plains & gentle hills, cannot be replicated right away in Sikkim. Hence, more emphasis need to be and is being given to Harvesting & “ON FARM PROCESSING” machineries.
  • Our ideal requirement is very very light weight Power Tillers preferably under 100Kgs. Identification & Testing of such ultra light power tillers should be initiated by the Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes.
  • For Sowing / plantingd of seeds , trials of manual operated seed drill being undertaken.
  • More emphasis on small capacity “ON FARM PROCESSING” machineries & Value addition equipments like small Grinders, Oil Expellers Soy Paneer Unit etc., These machineries need to be light weight so that they can be carried over a long distance to villages and should also be Single Phase electric run as 3 –phase powers are not available everywhere.
  • With the establishment of “College of Agril. Engineering and Post harvest technology” at Ranipool, East Sikkim, co-ordination between the State Government and the College will help in finding solutions to the specific problems as stated above.