Extension Education Institute, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad has organized a Webinar on FoodbWaste Management for Nutritional Security on 30 th September, 2024

Extension Education Institute, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad has organized a Webinar on Food Waste Management for Nutritional Security on 30th September, 2024 (Monday) for the benefit of the Middle level Extension Officials of the South Indian sates and Union Territories like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. The context for organizing the webinar was- Globally, food waste has become an increasingly recognised environmental issue over the last decade. Not only has the issue of wasted food become an ethical one in a world where approximately 800 million people suffer from hunger, but the environmental impacts of producing food that is then discarded can no longer be overlooked. As population and urbanisation grows, more food is being produced and more food is being wasted. Moreover, food wasted in an urban context creates severe environmental and public health consequences that have a negative impact upon human well-being and the environment. Food management is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and cities are key actors in the global mission to reduce the impact of climate change. The Paris Agreement commits signatories to “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels.” Without the involvement of cities in this process, the goals become impossible to achieve. The topics delivered by the three speakers of the webinar are- Shri Harshavardhan Era, CEO & Co – Founder, Peepal Waste Managers, Hyderabad, has delivered the topic on ‘ Wealth from Waste: Efficient Organic Waste Management Techniques’, Dr. Dinish Kumar, Head, Food Science & Post Harvest Technology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi has delivered the topic on ‘Valorisation of Agro – industrial By – products’ and Dr. M. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Director & University Head (Agril. Extension) has delivered the topic on ‘ Extension Strategies to Promote Food Waste Management for Nutrional Security’. Sri Harshavardhan has illustrated about the bio digesters, mainly highlighting biogas technology, vermin composting and make soil, Dr. Dinish Kumar showcased the conversion of waste in to wealth in the form of generating more by products from food waste. Dr. Reddy has narrated he role of middle level extension agricultural officials in enlightening and empowering the consumers, house holders, communities and policy makers on food waste management. He also advised to organize campaigns, training programmes, information materials (brochures, leaflets etc..), generate the data on quantum of food waste being generated at various places, methods of tracking and offering suitable advisories for effective food waste management. Dr. D. Shireesha, Assistant Professor, EEI, Hyderabad coordinated and moderated the webinar. 65 no of middle level extension officials of Agriculture, Horticulture, Engineering Animal husbandry and Dairy Development of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar states participated in the webinar. The trainees also submitted the feedback in the circulated Google form to assess the effectiveness of the webinar.