eChapters

9.1 Introduction

Depleting natural resources, regulations on synthetic material, growing environmental awareness and economic considerations today happens to be major driving force for utilization of wastes from the agricultural crops and their residues throughout world [1]. These challenges have led to the introduction of sustainable waste management practices via optimization of processing technologies for minimization and creative conversion of the plant and the processing industries biowastes the world over [2,3,4,5]. Although world prices for sugar and petroleum products have shown spectacular variations during the last few decades, the long term outlook is very likely to be a continuous increase in the price of all fossil fuels and stagnation, at best, for the price of sugar [6]. This gloomy prospect led to the renewed interest in the wastes of the sugarcane industry during the last 50 years and has proved that the optimal use of wastes can provide not only a non-negligible support to the sugarcane industry but will also be able to redress the difficult situation sugar is presently experiencing [7]. Reliable statistics are not available to show the detailed end uses of these wastes on a world basis, but from a very rough picture of their trade, we can say that the wastes from the sugar and jaggery industry serve to be amongst the richest bioresource in this era of recycling of biowastes for renewable wealth generation [8].

In fruits, vegetables, and their products, the sugars are estimated as reducing sugars, non-reducing sugars, and total sugars. Reducing sugars in fruits and their products represent glucose and fructose. A combination of reducing and non-reducing sugars gives total sugars, whereas non-reducing sugars mainly sucrose are calculated after deducting the value of reducing sugars from the total sugars as invert sugar and multiplying the remainder with a factor of 0.95. Many fruit, vegetables, and their products like jam, jelly, juice, preserve, candy, fruit toffees, etc., containing substantial amounts of sugars, are estimated as a routine by using Lane and Eynon’s method using Fehling’s solution. However, for products having a smaller quantity of sugars, more precise methods like colorimetric methods can be used.
Method: Lane and Eynon’s Method
Principle: Invert sugar reduces the copper in Fehling’s solution to red, insoluble cuprous oxide. The sugar content in a food sample is estimated by determining the volume of the unknown sugar solution required to completely reduce a known volume of Fehling’s solution. Glucose, fructose and other] sugars capable of reducing oxidizing agents are called reducing sugars and this property is used for the estimation of sugars.

Sulphur dioxide is used as a preservative in many fruit and vegetable products. It can be added either in the form of potassium metabisulphite or by exposingthe product to sulphur fumigation by burning sulphur powder. Food safety and standards regulations have specified the maximum limit of sulphur dioxide in the finished products. Products having sulphur dioxide content exceeding the limit are considered not conforming to Indian Food Laws. Therefore, the estimation of sulphur dioxide in food products is considered an important attribute for quality evaluation.
Principle
Sulphur dioxide added to the food products may exist as undissociated sulphurous acid, as free bisulphite ions, as free sulphite ions and/or as combined SO2 in the form of hydroxy sulphonates. Sulphur dioxide is measured as free or total SO2.
Free SO2 is measured by direct titration with iodine. In the estimation of total SO2, the combined SO2 is liberated by treatment with excess alkali at room temperature, followed by subsequent acidification to prevent recombination and titration with iodine. The method used is known as the Modified Ripper Titration Method.

The present research had been conducted to study the Entrepreneurial communication and the process, factors and impact in Agricultural enterprise and allied sectors of selected block of West Bengal and in the end the comparison is made. The study had been conducted at villages Radhikapur from blocks Kaliyaganj of West Bengal. A pilot study was conducted to understand the area, its people, institution, communication and extension system of these states.

An exhaustive list of respondents was prepared critically with the help of some villagers. From the list, 75 respondents from the village were selected for the study through Systematic Random sampling method. The primary data were collected with the help of structured interview schedule by following the personal interview method. The secondary data were collected from our departmental library, internet, Department of Agriculture, West Bengal, Bidhan Chandra krishi Viswavidyalaya, etc. for establishing the conceptual framework of the study.

The general objective of the study is to estimate and analyze the “Entrepreneurial communication: The process, factors and impact in Agricultural enterprise and allied sectors of selected block of West Bengal” and the specific objectives are:

1) To study the present status of the entrepreneurial communication.

2) To measure the unique features entrepreneurial communication over the general communication.

3) To generate micro level policy implementation based on the empirical research.

4) To estimate intra and inter level of interaction among dependent variable and independent variable.

5) To isolate factors impactions on Entrepreneurial behavior.

7.1: Summary

19 Independent variables and 6 Dependent variables were selected for the study respectively and measured with the help of exact scales developed by previous social science researchers or by modifying the developed scale by structured interview schedule for requirement of the study.

Independent variables selected for the study are, Age (x1), Education (x2), No. of enterprise (x3), Year of enterprise (x4), Family size (x5),Average Family education (x6), Material possessed (x7), Size of land holding (x8), Size of homestead land (x9) No. of fragments (x10), Crop yield (x11), Cropping intensity (x12), Annual Income (x13), Family expenditure (x14), Marketed surplus (x15), Marketable surplus (x16), Family labor (x17), No. of male workers (x18) and No. of female workers (x19). The Dependent variables selected for the study are, cosmopo lite Farm enterprise information (y1), localite Farm enterprise information (y2), Information seeking and responding behavior (y3), Entrepreneurial communication behavior (y4), Economical communication (y5) and Transportation cost (y6).

7.1 Summary

The presentre search hadbeenconducted to study the Entrepreneurial communication and the process, factors and impactin Agricultural enterprise and allied sectors of selected block of West Bengal and in the end the comparison is made. The study had been conducted at villages Mitrapur from blocks Haringhata of West Bengal. A pilot study was conducted to understand the area, its people, institution, communication and extension system of these states.

An exhaustive list of respondents was prepared critically with the help of some villagers. From the list, 75 respondents from the village were selected for the study through Systematic Random sampling method.The primary data were collected with the help of structured interview schedule by following the personal interview method. The secondary data were collected from our departmental library, internet, Department of Agriculture, West Bengal, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya etc. for establishing the conceptual framework of the study.

The general objective of the study is to estimate and analyse the “Productivity, Income, Livelihood and Ecology: The resilience analysis in Argo ecosystem” and the specific objectives are

• To study the present statuses of 1. Income 2. Productivity 3. Livelihood and 4. Ecological resilience of the respondence under study in a selected locale.

• To estimate the intra and inter level interaction among and between the selected sets of variables to estimate the common point of the interaction of the ‘Y’ Protected characteristics.

• To generate micro sociological policy implication based on empirical evidence.

• To isolate factors impactions on ecological resilience.

The quality and effectiveness of extension services are critical to the agricultural sector’s long-term viability and output. Farmers have been getting agricultural information from extension workers via interpersonal communication for many years. Still, the number of extension employees has been declining while the number of farming families has increased. As a result, the country’s current extension service needs to improve in reaching out to farmers with timely and relevant agricultural information. ICTs are considered a partial answer to quickly getting information to the growing number of farming households because relevant and timely information is vital in agriculture. Farmers may receive up-to-date knowledge and information on agricultural technologies, best practices, markets, price patterns, and customer preferences through its use.

Since farmers in many parts of India, including West Bengal , are becoming more mobile and internet savvy, disseminating useful real-time information about crops, soils, climate, cultivation practices, financing, produce storage, and marketing to farming communities is more important and challenging. Many concerted efforts from the government, non-government organizations, and industry are now required to make our farmers ICT -friendly so that the benefits of rapidly evolving technological advancements in farm production, storage, and marketing can be shared equally among all communities and sectors of farming.

The present research focuses on studying the Entrepreneurial Communication of Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) Members: The Process, Impact, and Innovation. The study was conducted in selected blocks of West Bengal, with a comparative analysis being carried out.

Fifteen Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) located in Uttar Dinajpur and Nadia districts of West Bengal were chosen. To ensure a comprehensive understanding of the research area, a pilot study was conducted to explore the geographical landscape, understand the local population, assess relevant institutions, analyze communication channels, and evaluate the extension systems.

With the help of CBBO, an exhaustive list of FPOs was prepared to ensure a representative sample. From this list, a random sampling method was employed to select seventy-five respondents for the study. Primary data were collected using structured interview schedules conducted through personal interviews.

The main objective of this research is to gain valuable insights into the entrepreneurial communication practices of Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) members and assess their impact on entrepreneurship. Additionally, the study aims to explore potential avenues for innovation within FPOs. By conducting a comparative analysis of various FPOs in West Bengal, this research seeks to shed light on their communication processes, effectiveness, and contributions to the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem. The findings of this study have the potential to significantly enhance entrepreneurial communication practices within FPOs, promoting innovation and facilitating the growth of agricultural entrepreneurship in the region of West Bengal.

Abstract

Drying remained at the centre stage since the initiation of the food processing due to its promise to preserve agricultural products economically and add functionality to a food product unlike other thermal as well as non-thermal food processing operations. However, many existing drying techniques have their own limitations like nutrient loss, damage of the organoleptic quality, high cost etc. Therefore, research for better drying technologies is going on. Supercritical drying (SCD) is one such technology which utilizes higher dissolving power of super critical fluids (SCFs) to dry food products. The current chapter illustrates the mechanism of SCD as well as current state-of-art and promise of the drying technology. Also, some modelling approach of SCD has been included in the discussion to facilitate new designs and optimization of SCD for various food products.

Introduction
 
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the functional foods because they can provide physiological benefits additional to nutritional and energetic, as for instance, antihypertensive, antioxidant or anti-inflammatory [1]. A functional food can be defined as a food that produces a beneficial effect in one or more physiological functions, increases the welfare and/or decreases the risk of suffering a particular disease. Furthermore, new types of products, derived from food, called nutraceuticals have recently been developed. These products, usually employed as food supplements, are marketed as tablets and pills, and can provide important health benefits.

Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) is an advanced extraction technology that provides an efficient and comparatively sustainable alternative to conventional solvent-based extraction. This chapter introduces the fundamental principles of supercritical fluids and explains the mechanism by which desirable compounds can be selectively extracted from food materials. It examines the use of SFE for recovering aroma compounds, essential oils, flavours, pigments, colours, antimicrobial compounds and valuable bioactive substances. Particular emphasis is placed on obtaining high-purity extracts while minimizing toxic solvent residues. The chapter also discusses industrial food applications, process advantages and limitations, highlighting the potential of SFE for developing cleaner, efficient and value-oriented food-processing and ingredient-recovery systems.

Abstract

Drying is a very important unit operation in food processing. Being an energy intensive unit operation, drying process demands improvement to make it energy efficient. Beside this operating conditions used in drying affect product quality substantially; however, traditional dryers do not allow enough flexibility to meet quality requirements for several products. This has resulted in development of number of new drying techniques, to cope with both energy efficiency and product quality.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) in agriculture refers to a series of interconnected activities, including procurement, order fulfillment, product design and development, distribution, delivery, shipping, and customer service. These activities involve two or more organizations within the agribusiness sector working together to meet customer demand. SCM emerged in the 1980s as an integrative approach to managing the entire flow of goods, from suppliers to end-users, with an emphasis on cost-effectiveness and efficiency. It has since evolved to incorporate broader integration of business processes along the supply chain. The primary focus of SCM is on optimizing costs and ensuring the efficient movement of materials from their source to their final destination. An efficient supply chain plays a crucial role in reducing operational costs.
In contrast, a value chain focuses on a set of linked activities that add value to a product, connecting producers to processors and markets. Value chains prioritize cooperation among actors to produce high-quality products and generate equitable income for all participants. Unlike supply chains, which center on logistics and product movement, value chains also include the transfer of knowledge, finance, payments, and social capital to organize producers and communities. While supply chains begin at the point of production, value chains originate from the consumer perspective.
The Concept of Supply Chain in Agriculture
The supply chain concept is critical for addressing unique characteristics of agricultural produce, such as:
• Seasonal production patterns
• Localized production regions
• Perishable nature of produce
• Post-harvest losses of varying magnitudes
• Low price realization by farmers
• Presence of multiple intermediaries

India is an agriculture based country where more than half of the population depends upon agriculture. Agriculture is a primary source of livelihood for about 58% of the population of the country. Indian agriculture sector contributes about 17% of Indian’s gross domestic product (GDP) and provide employment to 50% of the country workforce (DES, 2019). The diverse ecohabitat of the Himalayan region of the country hosts a wide range of plant diversity as well as crop diversity on which native people rely for their food and nutritional security. The hilly regions of the country are potential source of agriculture production having diversified weather conditions comprises of temperate and subtropical climatic conditions and covers about 35% of total geographical area of the country. As far as agriculture is concern, agriculture marketing has been an important aspect of rural population as it provides essential links between farm producers and consumers.

Not all the scientific problems demand the detection and establishment of causal relationship among natural phenomenon. Many of the social research problems seek to study the status quo rather than the relation between two or more natural phenomenon. Few of the impact assessment studies (which are kind of causal relationship studies to an extent) also demand for knowing the status quo before and after implementation of interventions. Many other studies demand for benchmark assessment to make policy decisions. Under such circumstances, survey research is a useful research method.

Abstract

This paper is the synthesis of researches of quaternary on the Chad lake basin, our field investigations, our previous palaeogeographic research underlined by the sédimentological analyses, ¹⁴C radiocarbon and thermoluninescence dating. The objective is to show that after the effects of geological fluctuation, paleoclimatic oscillations, the Chad lake basin experiences since historical times an increasingly drying up due to the combination of geographic factors such as its close position in the Sahara desert, centre of the climate dynamics and human activities. This situation frequently generates recurrent live conditions to which man has to face.

In the study of rural development, there are three frameworks of analysis, viz. neo-classical, Marxian and systems approaches. While the latter two are holistic approaches, the neo-classical framework provides the underpinning of modern microfinance, with its focus on the decision making of individual economic agents towards (short-term) profit or utility maximisation. Neo-classical discussion and policy prescriptions in microfinance are directed towards creating the conditions for the operation of free rural financial markets. Institutional economists have further used the imperfect information paradigm to focus on transaction costs of credit delivery that serve to explain and justify high interest rates charged by village moneylenders (Tankha, 2002).

Introduction

The prosperity of Tamil Nadu depends on the development of rural areas. As per the 2001 Census, Tamil Nadu’s rural population was 36.2 million, amounting to 58% of the total population. Of these 90 percent are earning their livelihood through agriculture and allied activities. The agricultural situation in Tamil Nadu largely depends on the quantum of rainfall received during seasonal rainfall of South West and North East monsoon. North East monsoon which occurs around September to November is more crucial as South West monsoon which will give enormous rainfall to other Indian states is blocked by Western Ghats. So Tamil Nadu is receiving low rainfall and it also comes in three to five heavy showers during October and November. This limits the wet period (good condition for cultivation) to two to five weeks for the whole season. The wet period is further shortened by fast wind and soil type in some area. Thus, the success of the crop is largely determined by one’s capacity to exploit the short wet period. Even though the Tamil Nadu is relatively better position in tapping available ground water resources (92 percent of potential has been tapped), 82 percent of the well is owned by medium and large farmers who is only 10 per cent of total cultivators.

The past development efforts in India center around individual approach and these efforts did not bring about sustained development of people in the respective areas. In view of this, the development of the people could not be harnessed to the fullest potential. Realizing this lacuna, the group based development efforts have come up in a big way across the country in the recent years. The Government, private organizations and also the NGOs are giving due importance for the promotion and establishment of Self Help Groups (SHGs) for addressing all developmental issues. As on today, there are more than 3.37 million SHGs across the country, Tamil Nadu is one of the pioneering states in the formation and promotion of women SHGs and about 4.41 lakh SHGs are functioning in the state. Among the SHGs formed, some of the SHGs are functioning well and sustain for a longer period and others did not come up to the expectation and they did not sustain for longer period. Hence, it was considered opportune time to find out the sustainability level of the SHGs and isolate factors for variation since there was no research back up.
 
Therefore, the study was undertaken to analyse the sustainability of mixed enterprises  related SHGS in Tamil Nadu with an intention to find out the extent of sustainability at different levels.  The study was conducted in Dharmapuri District of Tamil Nadu. Five blocks namely Dharmapuri, Harur, Morappur, Nallampalli, and Pennagaram were selected from the district based on maximum number of SHGs.

Sustainability issues have infused sanity in utilizing interventions without much damage to the environment. The wisdom of the practitioners, who had over generations developed their own eco-friendly practices, is being appreciated. Recent researches have aimed at documenting, rationalizing, and blending the Indigenous Knowledge with the so called Scientific or Western knowledge so as to take care of the sustainability issues. Many researchers have contributed to this pool of knowledge by documenting many of the technologies, crop wise, area wise and operation wise and so on.

Role of Agriculture in Livelihood Systems

For the developing countries like India, where a majority of families, in both the farm and non-farm sectors, derive their livelihoods from agriculture, sustainability of agriculture cannot be discussed or even defined in isolation of the issue of livelihoods. Livelihood is defined as adequate stock and flow of food and cash with an individual or a family to meet its basic needs. Livelihood security then means secured ownership of, or access to, resources and income-earning activities, including reserves and assets to offset risks, ease shocks and meet contingencies. There are four principal ways of acquiring livelihoods by the rural households. First is the production-based livelihood. A large proportion of the small and marginal farmers gain livelihoods through production on small pieces of land. For these households, availability or access to inputs and improved methods of production are quite critical for their livelihoods. Second is the labour-based livelihood. Most of the small landholders and landless rural households derive livelihoods by selling their labour. For their livelihoods, demand for labour, wage rates and prices of food are the critical factors. Third is the exchange- or market- based livelihood. Those rural households which produce surplus food and non-food agricultural products or non-farm goods earn their livelihoods by selling these surpluses in the market. The marketing system for these products and relative prices of what they sell and what they buy, affect their livelihoods. The fourth set of livelihoods is transfer-based entitlements. The households without any income-earning asset or able-bodied person to work depend for their livelihoods on transfers from the government or other social organizations. Government’s social security and food assistance programmes are relevant for this group of rural households in fulfilling their livelihood requirements. The rural livelihood systems in the developing countries thus encompass a broad range of factors and depend on several macro sub- systems of the economy.