Small-scale food processing enterprises play a vital role in strengthening rural economies, reducing post-harvest losses, and generating local employment opportunities. With increasing consumer demand for safe, nutritious, and value-added food products, there is immense potential for women and youth to become successful agri-entrepreneurs in the food processing sector.
This course is designed to equip participants with the practical knowledge, technical skills, and entrepreneurial mindset needed to establish and manage small-scale food processing enterprises. It emphasizes value addition to locally available crops, fruits, and vegetables, along with training in modern processing methods, packaging, quality control, branding, and marketing.
By building the capacity of women and youth, the course aims to promote inclusive growth, enhance income opportunities, and strengthen rural food systems. It also encourages the formation of micro-enterprises and cooperatives, helping participants to move from primary production to profitable value addition and market linkages.
The training will further develop financial literacy, business planning, and enterprise management capabilities—essential components for transforming ideas into sustainable enterprises. Community-based organizations and young innovators will be encouraged to take leadership roles in local food enterprises, fostering entrepreneurship-led rural development.
Government officials, Field level functionaries in different departments - agriculture, women and child welfare, rural health ministries, agri-business, among others. Functionaries can be from countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Food science / food technology / business management / agriculture experts.
- Food processing industry: A snapshot of global scenario
- Managing Small Scale Food Processing enterprises
- Rural entrepreneurship & business opportunities for Women & youth
- Food processing technologies & entrepreneurship development
- New Product Development
- Trends in Food Products Packaging
- Business Communication & Digital Technologies for SMEs
- Rural Entrepreneurship and Food Processing
- Technology based Entrepreneurship Development and Business Plan Preparation
- Business Plan Preparation
- Intellectual property Rights, Technology Transfer & Compliance
- Communication skills for better client engagement
- Networking and mentoring for effective client servicing
- Entrepreneurial Journey (interaction with entrepreneurs)
- Visits to processing facilities and Technology Business Incubators in Hyderabad.
- Participants, including women entrepreneurs, and youth, gain a clear understanding of opportunities in the food processing sector.
- Women and youth learn the essential steps of establishing and managing small-scale food enterprises, from idea to market.
- Improved knowledge in food processing, packaging, marketing, and quality standards to ensure competitiveness and profitability.
- Strengthened linkages with key departments, technical experts, and financial institutions to facilitate enterprise growth.
- Improved livelihoods, enhanced household incomes, and empowered women and youth as change agents for sustainable rural development.
Create a login to apply for the course and furnish all the requisite information. Submit the application online and download the submitted application form.
Take a printout of the submitted application form, get appropriate signatures at all the signature placeholders throughout the application form including the English proficiency certificate, medical report, candidate undertaking form and the Employer nomination form;
Scan the complete application document and submit the physical copies of the application form including the undertaking form and the employer nomination form to the Indian High commission in your country and e-mail the scanned copy of the executed application form to vishwambhar.duche@icrisat.org with a copy to babu.potta@icrisat.org
Please note that we have very limited seats for the course and the eligible applications will be shortlisted by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India on First Come First Serve basis. Therefore, if you are interested, we recommend that you submit your application immediately without any delay.
In case you face any technical difficulties in applying for the course, such as portal issues, login issues or any website related errors, please screenshot the errors and email to help@itecgoi.in & cc: vishwambhar.duche@icrisat.org and, babu.potta@icrisat.org
Registration link: ITEC: Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation
Principal Scientist & Cluster Leader,
Knowledge and Capacity Development,
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
Email: padmaja.ravula@icrisat.org
Manager – Agribusiness Relations
Enabling Systems Transformation
International Crops Research Institute for the
Semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Email: purushotham.rudraraju@icrisat.org
