ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana

ICAR–National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB), Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, organized a six-day training programme on “Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition of Banana” for farmers from different islands of the Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) during the last week of January 2026. The main objective of the programme was to promote the development of banana-based entrepreneurship in the A&N Islands. Among the participants, more than 70 per cent belonged to the women category. During the inaugural session of the training programme, Dr. R. Selvarajan, Director, ICAR–NRCB, emphasized the importance and uniqueness of the coastal agro-ecosystem, which demands supplementary per capita income in addition to subsistence agriculture or fisheries. In this context, the production of value-added products from different commodities plays a vital role. He further underlined that banana cultivation alone cannot serve as a sustainable livelihood option for farmers; incorporating post-harvest management and value-added product development would not only enhance per capita income but also promote holistic entrepreneurship within the agro-ecosystem. The six-day hands-on training programme covered various aspects, including post-harvest management, value-added products, hi-tech banana cultivation practices, banana-based Integrated Farming Systems (IFS), and government schemes and support for entrepreneurship. Highlighting the importance of the training programme, Dr. C. Karpagam and Dr. P. Suresh Kumar, Coordinators of the programme, noted that the training mainly focused on hands-on practical exposure to enable participants to produce banana-based value-added products. During the programme, all participants were exposed to the production of seven banana-based value-added products, such as banana fig, stem juice, stem pickle, etc. In the farmers’ perspective session, a progressive farmer and CEO of Agathiar FPO from Tamil Nadu shared his experiences on Integrated Farming Systems (IFS), natural farming, organic farming, and the challenges involved in marketing banana value-added products. The participants also visited the ICAR–NRCB farm to observe the effectiveness of different technologies under field conditions. As part of the off-campus training, they were taken on an exposure visit to the Thottiam Banana Producer Group (TBPG), a pioneering Farmer Producer Organization (FPO), and SVS Foundation in Namakkal District, an organization focusing on sustainability, women empowerment, and eco-friendly initiatives. The training programme concluded with a valedictory session on 31 January 2026. During the session, feedback from the farmers was encouraged, and it was expressed that the programme would significantly enhance banana-based entrepreneurship development in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.