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Citing its collaboration with the Mysuru-based DRDO-Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) for its Gaganyaan Mission, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S. Somanath on Thursday said the ISRO was keen to engage with various scientific and research and academic institutions and added that the space agency, being a societal-oriented organisation, was ready to extend support like it has been doing for agriculture and various other sectors.
Speaking at the inauguration of the four-day 9th International Food Convention organised by the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India) with the support from the CSIR-CFTRI, CSIR-IITR and the DRDO-DFRL here, Dr. Somanath said ISRO’s remote sensing satellites have been supporting Indian farmers like in helping them address diseases affecting their crops with satellite and other useful data.
ISRO is open for more collaborations and to help address the problems with the aid of its satellites and other technological interventions, he said.
The ISRO chairman told the food technologists attending the conference to engage for detailed discussions with the experts from the remote sensing center at the ISRO so that we could understand the needs and work accordingly. Invite our scientists in your upcoming conferences and other events so that they could get an idea of your works and the support that ISRO can extend, Dr. Somanath told the gathering of food scientists.
Complimenting the Mysuru-based DRDO-DFRL and the CSIR-CFTRI for their pioneering works in the area of food technologies, Dr Somanath spoke about the DRDO-DFRL’s support to ISRO’s Gaganyaan Mission and the space foods it had developed for the astronauts who will be part of the Mission.
“The foods that will go into space travel had been kept ready,” he said, while thanking the defence food lab for its efforts in supporting the space mission.
While concluding his talk, the ISRO chairman reiterated the space organisation’s desire to support the area of food science, collaborating with the organisations and academic institutions.
More than 3,000 delegates from across the country are attending the four-day conference and a mega food expo will commence on the premises of CSIR-CFRI on Friday. More than 100 stalls will showcase the food technologies and the products, including those developed by the premier food labs and the ones who adopted these technologies. The highlight of the expo will be a special pavilion on millets since the year 2023 had been declared as the International Year of Millets.
