With an objective to create an awareness on scientific practices for protection of grain, cereal and pulses during handling, transport and storage, a two-day workshop will be held from August 30 at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University here.

It is important to engage farmers in practical demonstration to make them understand the scientific practices to be adopted by them to save their grains in households and at village level from stored insect pests, said a press release from the University.

“Also there is necessity for active participation of students and research scholars in this aspect in the process of sharing and understanding scientific knowledge on this important subject. Awareness and capacity building are thus necessary and this is the reason behind the workshop,” the release added.

The workshop will cover both classroom and practical sessions and the importance being is to reemphasise the heavy post harvest losses of grains during storage, handling and transport in the Indian context.

Other objectives include bringing all stakeholders on one platform to take this mission forward in an accelerated manner and the program in different regions of India for easy accessibility and convenience of all stakeholders in the region, thus to reduce storage losses by enhancing knowledge and skill of participants, it said.

About 300 delegates from across India including traders, exporters, Import processing industries and industry associations in grain, cereal and pulses segment, farmers in the region, warehousing and fumigation service providers, Government department representatives and scientists from state departments and State agricultural universities.