Effect of Vocational Training Programme on Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables for Self Help Group members

The value addition of fruits and vegetables helps in improving the diet quality by supplying essential nutrient (vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, antioxidants) needed for healthy life style. India is processing only 2–3 per cent of fruits and vegetables for value addition of seasonal food items in the form of jam, pickles, beverages, marmalades, squashes etc. on a commercial scale. Therefore, a vocational training was conducted for the self help group members of rural women (18–45 yr) of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Punjab for a period of 10d at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra campus. The skills regarding the food preservation were imparted to a group of 18 farm women through lectures, demonstration and hand on training for different food products namely mixed fruit jam, pickle, chutney, marmalades, nuggets, papad and squash etc. After completion of the training course, the outcome was evaluated through a questionnaire using appropriate statistical tools like frequency and percentage. The study revealed that 50 per cent of the trainees of self help group adopted value addition of fruits and vegetables on a commercial scale.