Thursday, 17 June 2021

Domain name registration and Web Hosting (Wordpress)

Domain Name

The domain name is your address on the internet. It is similar to www.yahoo.com, www.google.com, www.facebook.com.

The domain name was already registered on my behalf and I wanted to have the control over it.Domain name registration is easy. many websites offer this for a nominal cost.

I had used the services of namecheap.com

The company who registered it for me finally transferred the ownership of the domain to me. Now I have a username, password and an e mail linked to my account on namecheap.com.

This transfer of ownership was easy.

Migrating web-hosting

Our website (web page, links, media etc.) was created by a company and it also hosted it on a web server.

Host server or web server is the computer where the content files of the website/domain reside. When users enter the websddress in a web browser, the web browser retrieves the content from the host computer and displays the content to the user.

e.g. you want to book air ticket and you visit the website of the airline of your choice which offers the flight for your connections. This website then displays all the relevant information and guides or navigates you to all the steps such as selection of route, date of travel etc. Then it lets you enter the name and other details of the passengers and before issuing ticket it collects payment also. All the relevant files for this task reside on web host or web server.

For bloggers or simple sites the number of files and the memory space required on the host computer is very small compared to big corporations and e commerce companies.

Big corporations prefer to have their own web servers/host computers with dedicated internet connectivity and backups.

Their are many web hosting companies in the world which provide this service on a nominal fee. Namecheap, Siteground, bluehost, godaddy etc. are a few to name. One can search it on the internet and select a proper host and the hosting plan based on the price and services.

I had to move the website from the previous host (word press host). I chose word press hosting on namecheap and enrolled for their plan with 10 GB storage and 50k visitors per month. Unfortunately it did not come with a SSL certificate. To resolve this I purchased SSL certificate for one year in $10 (US dollar) and applied to it my domain name/website.

MIGRATION OF WEBSITE FROM ONE HOST TO ANOTHER HOST

My website was hosted on a WordPress web host. WordPress is a content management system (CMS) used by many companies/persons for creating and managing websites. Other CMS available are Joomla, Drupal etc. There may be many more CMS or ways of creating and managing websites, but I went for WordPress because it was chosen by the company who did work for me, and the website was created using WordPress CMS and hosted on a WordPress server/host (which can run WordPress code).

Now let me put down the steps

Step 1 I logged into the account on the existing webhost by using the following link

www.mywebsite.com/wp-admin/ (mywebsite is just for reference here, it will be the name of your website)

It took me to a screen on my browser where I was asked to enter user name and password.

Once done it took me to the Word Press Dashboard (it is a display on your computer screen from where you can edit, delete, control, change, delete content on your website. It is similar to car dashboard which allows driver to control the car completely)

Step 2 Downloaded All-in-one WP Migration Plugin through the dashboard and activated it.

Step 3 Run the plugin all-in-one WP migration and export website content to a file on your computer. Only works for file size up to 512 MB. In case your website is having files larger than this size then probably some other methods are required.

Strep 4 Log out of your dashboard

Step 5 Log into WordPress dashboard of your new host (where you wish to migrate your website). We already purchased subscription for the new host. So go to new webhost and enter your username and password, to enter the dashboard. It will be for a temporary domain where you will upload your file exported under Step 3

Step 6 Download and activate All-in-one WP migration plugin from the dashboard of your new web host (if this plugin is not already installed)

Step 7 Run the plugin from your dashboard and import the file (exported under Step 3)

Step 8 Change domain

Step 9 Relogin to your existing/previous web host from where you exported website files and look for permalinks in dashboard and save the changes.

Step 10 Login to your domain name registrar. select your domain and Manage it to change the Nameservers as provided by your new webhost. (for me both name and new webhost was from namecheap). nameserver will direct the website requests to the correct host. In my case I had set it to Namecheap Basic DNS

Step 11 The website was hosted on temporary domain initially and then it was moved to the registerd domain name.

Setting up SSL certificate

Once the migration of website from previous host to new host was completed, the website could be opened in the browsers. As i took basic service, it did not come with SSL certificate. Without this the web browsers keep telling the users that it is not safe website and block the opening of the website until you accept to continue to the website even if it is unsafe.

to overcome this issue I purchased subscription of SSL certificate from Namecheap for one year initially in $10 dollars and then started its application to my website. it is bit tricky and I followed the guidelines and took live chat support from Namecheap

Do go through the steps before installing SSL.

Step 1 Generate CSR code. The link was avialable through namecheap after the purchase of SSL.

I just followed the instructions. The only important thing was that I copied and saved the key to a notepad file.

It looked like

It is important to save this RSA private Key as it will be used later for validation of SSL certificate.

Also I was asked to submit a different email address (different from my account on namecheap) to receive the certificate files through e mail from the SSL certificate provider company.

Step 2 I forgot exact steps but as per instructions I copied the CNAME record (Host and Target values). I copied it from display on the screen and saved in notepad editor.

The host value ends with the name of the website for which it is to be used. So while copying host record we are not supposed to copy the last part (which is website name for which SSL is being purchased).

Step 3 Log in to namecheap account and click on domain in the dashboard. then manage it and click Advanced DNS. under advanced DNS add new record CNAME. Copy the host and target values in this record and save it. Now the domain name has a record which indicates its SSL status.

Step 4 Click on SSL certificates in dasboard of domain name admin panel. Activate the SSL certificate as it will be indicated there.

Step 5 Next is DCV or domain validation or certificate validation

Step 6 Download the files received from the certificate provider. One will be .cert file and another .ca-bundle

Step 6 Go to Apps in namecheap domain panel and click on the website and locate to manage SSL certificate.

Step 7 Under Manage Upload the RSA Key, .cert file (certificate) and .ca-bundle files and finish.

And it was done.

t test

for paired two sample for means

Ho (null hypothesis): Means of differences is equal to zero.

calculate differences (Sample1-sample 2; for each of the n observations)

Then calculate mean, standard deviation, Standard error, t value, critical t, LSD (Least significant difference)

N no of observations

Calculate Mean/Average of the "N" individual differences obtained

Calculate Standard deviation of the Differences

Standard Error = Std Deviation / Sq Rt (N)

t statistic = Mean / Standard Error

Critical t (table value) for 0.05 probability and 2 tailed. USe Excel t.inv.2t function to get this value

degree of freedom will be (N-1)

LSD = Standard Error * Critical t

Sunday, 23 May 2021

Solar Energy Driven Cold Storage

SOLAR ENERGY OPERATED SMALL CAPACITY COLD STORAGE

FARM SUN FRIDGE

Indian farmers producing fruits, vegetables, milk, egg have no commercial storage facility available at their farm or household. Also the supply of electricity from the grid is not reliable. Power cuts are quite common. The quality of the electricity is also not good. Low voltage is quite common.

During storms or other extreme weather events, the power cables get snapped and the system also develops snags. Restoration of electricity takes time.

Scientists under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) had developed some cold storage structure (capacity approx. 2 tonnes) based on the principle of evaporative cooling. It is a fact that during hot and dry weather conditions, evaporation of water causes cooling. This concept was commonly used by artisans to make clay containers (surahi, ghada) to cool the water stored in these containers. The cooling effect due to evaporation is limited and it also depends on the ambient temperature and humidity. Under best possible conditions we can achieve a reduction in temperature up to say 15 to 18 deg. C. Although it helps in extending the shelf life of perishables to some extent, but this cannot achieve the optimum temperatures (10 - 12 deg C) for storage of tropical fruits and vegetables. These structures only need water to cool their walls and operate without electricity.

Further research was conducted to improve the storage structures of small capacity (two tonnes) by augmenting them with refrigeration. It led to the development of Farm Sun Fridge (as shown in pictures above).

The Farm Sun Fridge is an innovative, off-grid, battery-less, cold storage facility for perishables that uses a combination of evaporative cooling and solar refrigeration to store harvested farm products on farmers’ fields or in farm communities. This facility offers smallholder farmers inexpensive access to cold storage even without electrical connection and improves their control over the marketing of their crops.

It incorporates several innovative features into its design: it uses wetted fabric over iron mesh walls for passive, evaporative cooling, autoclaved aerated concrete blocks (AAC) and styrofoam panels for insulation, a solar-powered, mini split inverter air-conditioning unit for refrigeration, water-based thermal storage in place of batteries for nighttime cooling, and a novel solar sensor that better balances refrigeration demand with available solar energy.

Unique among clean energy storage concepts, the Farm SunFridge can be conveniently constructed all at once or developed in stages, as time and finances allow. In the first stage, farmers build the evaporative cooling (EC) chamber with locally available materials, which provides modest cooling. In stage two, solar refrigeration is installed with minimal additional investment and no major structural modifications.

WATCH VIDEO TO KNOW MORE

The approx cost (year 2021) and brief specifications are as under:

Cost: ~Rs 5 Lakhs (~ $7000)

Photovoltaic Wattage: 5 kW

Refrigeration Capacity: 18,000 BTU/hr (1.5 tonnes)

Construction Area: 35 m²

Construction Time: one month

Size: 3 x 3 x 3 meters.

Storage Capacity: 2000 kg produce

Internal Daytime Temperature: 8 – 10°C

Internal Nighttime Temperature: 12 – 14 °C

* when the daily ambient maximum temperature is approximately 45 °C

Sunday, 1 June 2014

Agro-Processing in India – Status and Opportunities

Devinder Dhingra

devinder.dhingra@gmail.com

Mobile: +91-98732-13230

India has a geographical area of over 329 million hectares endowed with diversity of climate, soils, flora and fauna. The rich resource endowment is however constantly threatened with the ever increasing population thereby challenging the food security. Agriculture is the corner stone of the economy of India but its share (23%) is shrinking rapidly even though a majority of the labor force (nearly 60%) is dependent on it. About 70% of India’s 1.2 billion population lives in rural areas with small and marginal land holdings which are not enough to achieve standards of livelihood. 80% of Indian farmers have small and marginal farms (< 2 ha) and 90 % of them are dependent on rain fed farming. In traditional farming practices the cost of cultivation and risk of crop failure is so high that often the farmer is unable to recover even the money spent by him. Agriculture thus alone cannot provide a reliable livelihood and a sufficient means of survival for the growing population of our country. Alternative and additional income generating opportunities are needed to support millions of poor families who cannot support the livelihood from land alone.

Various such strategies for income generation and food and dietary diversification at the community and household levels include activities like promotion of mixed cropping and integrated farming systems; introduction of new crops (such as soybean); promotion of underexploited traditional foods and home gardens; small livestock raising; promotion of fishery and forestry products for household consumption; promotion of improved preservation and storage of fruits and vegetables and strengthening of small-scale agro-processing and food industries. Agro processing can have a vital impact on food security by reducing food losses, increasing income and food availability and improving access to nutritious and fortified foods. However the majority of development work in India is undertaken to improve food security by increasing food production and lesser attention has been given to the role of agro processing.

Scenario

The Post Harvest processing of agricultural products in our country consists of organised (25 %), small scale (33 %) and un-organised (42 %) industry. The un-organised segment accounts for more than 70 % of the output in terms of volume and 50% in terms of value. The ICAR institutes and SAU’s have developed a number of useful farmer centric technologies for primary and secondary processing of food grains and horticultural crops in production catchments. The farmer centric technologies were developed to reduce the post harvest losses and add value to the agricultural products. These developments mainly deal with appropriate tools and gadgets for safe and efficient harvesting, maturity indices, safe moisture content for storage, machinery for cleaning, grading, sorting of food grains and horticultural crops, storage structures, evaporatively cooled storage structures, waxing and packaging, mechanisation and standardisation of the processes for traditional processed products, processing and value addition for novel products etc.

Use of cleaning and grading equipment in mandies, modernisation of wheat, rice and dhal milling, use of metal bins for storage of food grains at domestic level, CFB boxes and plastic crates for handling and transportation of fruits and vegetables, availability of variety of value added processed products in the markets are few things which quietly tell the changes which have taken place in the area of post harvest technology in our country.

The contribution of food processing sector to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased to Rs 78,094 crores in 2011-12 from Rs 52,161 crore in 2006-07 with Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.0%. CAGR for agriculture sector during the same period has grown at 3.8%. Due to technological interventions, more and more agricultural products are being converted (in value terms) to food products. During 2010-11, 16.62 lakh persons were employed in registered food processing industries in comparison to 14.76 lakh in the year 2006-07. The major processed food products exported during the year 2012-12 were Guar gum, Rice-Basmati, Marine products, Meat and Meat products, oil meals, spices, rice-other than Basmati and Wheat. These were valued at 24,565 million US $. A nationwide assessment of harvest and post harvest losses for 46 agricultural products was carried out in order to quantify post-harvest losses at different unit operations. The data is useful for planners, policy makers and other stakeholders for proper planning to minimize post-harvest losses.

Storage (covered) capacity with FCI has increased to 33.99 million tonnes (2013) from 23.37 million tonnes in 2005. The CAP (cover and plinth) storage capacity has increased from 2.66 million tonnes (2005) to 3.74 million tonnes in 2013. The storage of food grains in India by organized sector was largely in jute bags. But recently bulk grains storage facilities have been created at Moga (Punjab) & Kaithal (Haryana) under PPP mode. More than 24,000 godowns with a total capacity of approx 28.3 million tonnes have come up in rural areas. Controlled atmosphere storage facilities for fruits (Apple) have been established.

More than 100 pack houses have been established for fruits and vegetables. Around 50 individually quick frozen (IQF) units have been set up for shrimp.

Challenges, Issues and Concerns

The major challenges in the area of post harvest technology are:

1. Reduction in post harvest losses.

2. Creation of storage facilities for food grains and perishables.

3. Enhancement in level of processing of horticultural produce.

4. Improvement in the equipment and machineries for enhanced recovery of rice, oil, and pulses.

5. Enhance food quality and safety.

6. Development of viable technologies for processing and utilisation of by-products of processing industries and crop residues.

7. Creation of additional income and employment opportunities in rural areas through small scale agro-processing units in the production catchments.

Way Forward

· Proceesing and value addition in production catchments.

· Esatblsihment of grain storage facilities, cold storages and CA storages.

· Exploit the un-trapped potential of the vast number of products which can be obtained from main commodities and by-products of agricultural and horticultural crops, livestock and fishery sectors using high end effective technologies; e.g. chitosan, pectin, anti-oxidants, vitamins, nutraceuticals etc.

· Setting up of agro-processing centres in the production catchments.

· Utilization of crop residues and processing industries by-products

· Develop methods for detection and measurement of insecticide/pesticide residues, toxins and antibiotics in food products.

· Sensitise and upgrade the food processing industries especially in the un-organised sector through trainings and research on implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act

· Develop protocols for HACCP for food industries in un-organised sector.

Minimisation of Post-Harvest Crop Losses

Post-harvest processing and value addition of the produce of agriculture and allied sectors has gained prominence in the country during the recent years. Availability of raw materials, changing lifestyles and appropriate fiscal policies has given a considerable push to food processing industries. This sector serves as a vital link between the agriculture and industrial segments of the economy. Post-harvest processing and value addition is of critical importance to reduce crop losses by increasing shelf-life of the raw and processed products.

A study of the quantitative harvest and post-harvest losses of major crops and livestock produce was carried out by ICAR during 2005-07. The survey was undertaken in 106 districts of India with respect to 46 crops and commodities comprising 5 cereals, 4 pulses, 6 oilseeds, 8 fruits, 8 vegetables, 8 plantation crops and spices, 6 livestock produce and jaggery. The data collected by enquiry and by observations in the field were scrutinized and statistically analyzed to arrive at the overall estimates of quantitative harvest and post-harvest losses at national level. The operations considered for assessment of losses were harvesting, collection, threshing, grading / sorting, winnowing / cleaning, drying, packaging, transportation, and storage depending upon the commodity. The losses in selected cereals, pulses and oilseeds were observed in the range of 3.9-6 %, 4.3-6.1 % and 2.8-10.1 %, respectively. The losses in selected fruits and vegetables were observed in the range of 5.8-18 %.

Reasons for post-harvest crop losses

· Long supply chain. At the change of each hand the loss in quality and quantity is bound to take place.

· Primary processing like washing of fruits and vegetables at farm level as well as cleaning, grading of grain is not at all followed that leads to losses during short as well as long term storage.

· Lack of infrastructure to properly store the grain as well as perishables is causing the losses as grains in open are exposed to sun and rain and fruits and vegetables at low humidity and physiological damage. The total capacity for storage of food grains is around 25 million metric tonnes. The total capacity of the cold stores is around 24 million metric tonnes.

· The manpower engaged in agriculture is also not scientifically trained. The farmers are mostly concentrating on production.

· Lack of proper transport is another reason. For examples grains are transported in the gunny bags which are reused, in reusing they become weak and also more porous to atmospheric moisture. The spoilage during handling due to insertion of hooks is also substantial to the tune of Rs. 15,000 crores.

· The food material is very badly handled hence mechanical injury, bruising, breaking takes place which spoils the food during storage.

Issues to be addressed for reduction in post-harvest losses

The areas which need attention for bringing about reduction in post-harvest losses include researchable issues as well as issues pertaining to creation of modern infrastructure for safe storage and transportation of agro-produce. Some of the general issues to be addressed are outlined as under:

· Training and sensitization of farmers, traders and the workforce on unit operations involved in post-harvest handling, farm operations, processing, value addition and storage activities.

· Technologies for extraction and isolation of high value compounds from agricultural produce. e. g. rice bran oil, enzymes, antioxidants vitamins, flavours, fragrances, essential oils, colours, peptides etc.

· Instrumentation and analytical methods for fast and accurate measurement of quality of food products with reference to safety for human consumption.

Agro processing for livelihood security and reduction in post harvest losses

Agro processing – technology to turn agricultural products into processed products for market - has the potential to reduce losses in foods, enhance food nutrition, improve incomes through employment opportunities thereby mitigating poverty and hunger. Agro processing involves handling and conservation of agricultural produce to make it useful as food, feed, fiber, fuel or industrial raw material. The scope of agro processing industry includes all the operations from harvest stage till the material reaches the end users in desired form. Inadequate attention to agro processing sector can put both the producer and consumer at a disadvantage and also hurt the economy of the country. The unit operations involved in agro processing are collection, cIeaning, grading, separation, drying, decortication, milling, cutting, blanching, cooking, canning, freezing, packaging, transport and storage etc.

Green revolution has made possible self sufficiency of foods. Sometimes surplus production of a commodity affects the market price in the markets resulting in lower selling price leading to distress sale of commodities by farmers. The transportation of the unprocessed products to urban areas also involves higher cost of transportation and storage of non edible part of unprocessed foods. Processing of food materials therefore reduces the cost of storage and transportation apart from adding a value to the product, increasing shelf life of food and reducing losses thereby improving livelihood of the farmers. In fact in present times the contemporary consumers also prefer to purchase value added processed products due to saving in cooking times, less storage space and general convenience thereof.

Agro processing can contribute to improving nutrition directly through producing nutritious and beneficial value added end products and indirectly through generating income to purchase a varied and nutritious diet. Small scale agro processing technology is particularly suited to women farmers and has an important role to play in poverty elimination. The technology is dependent on indigenous knowledge and can be carried out in the house enabling women to fully participate while maintaining other roles as mother and homemaker.

There is a very high level of consumption of processed foods in developed countries in contrast to much lower share of processed foods in the markets of developing counties. In USA nearly 70% of foods are value added whereas in Indian markets nearly 50% foods are not processed and high value products occupy only 18% of the market. In India the present status of food processing is very low (2%).

Agro processing units for rural production catchments

Agro-processing and value addition in rural areas can catalyze the rural incomes by creating employment opportunities. It will also help in reduction in crop losses and efficient utilization of by-products. The process and economic analysis of a few financially viable small scale agro-processing enterprises (rice, wheat, spices, oil milling, soy milk, dehydration of fruits and vegetables etc) has been conducted and is available.

Advanced technologies required

Sr No	Area	Advanced technologies needed
1.	Reduction in post-harvest losses	· Bulk storage structures for food grains (silos) · Cold-Chain for handling and transportation of perishables (fruits/vegetables, meat, fish etc.) including reefer vans and containers. · Controlled atmosphere (CA) storage for prolonging shelf life of fruits/vegetables. · Food irradiation facilities for insect disinfestations, reduction in microbial spoilage, sprout inhibition etc. · Nano-composites for packaging of fresh & processed food products · Smart packaging for fruits and vegetables. · Instrumentation and analytical methods for fast and accurate measurement of quality of food products with reference to safety for human consumption.
2.	Value Addition	· Technologies for extraction and isolation of high value compounds from agricultural produce. e. g. rice bran oil, enzymes, antioxidants vitamins, flavours, fragrances, essential oils, colours, peptides etc. · Food processing technologies for making health foods / functional foods for tackling malnutrition and disease prevention. · Development and application of emerging technologies such as non-destructive quality evaluation, extrusion processing, cryo-grinding, ohmic heating, high pressure processing, encapsulation etc. for value addition. · Development and application of biotechnology tools in the field of processing & value addition of food products, e.g. production of high fructose corn syrup from maize starch through immobilized enzymes.

Summary

India is a diverse country and a single strategy to reduce post harvest losses and improve processing and value addition of agricultural produce will not be effective. It is required to have agro-processing units in production catchments to process the produce into ingredients required for our day-to-day cooking. In scientific terms it is called primary processing and secondary processing of agricultural produce. Similarly we also need participation of large industries for tertiary processing and seconadry agriculture. The activities on processing and value addition of agricultural produce for humans and animals has a tremendous potential in terms of income and emploument generation. Agro processing not only generates income but also triggers development process in terms of improved agricultural practices for sustainability and livelihood and food security.

Tuesday, 23 April 2013

Postharvest Technology

Equipment

· Modified railway freight container for long distance transportation of fruits and vegetables.

· Banana Comb cutter

· Pomegranate aril extraction machine

· Litchi Fruit Peeling Machine

· Ohmic heating system for stabilization of rice bran

· Continuous feed type aloe vera gel extractor

· Cashew nut drum roasting machine

· Autoclavable microencapsulation system for micro-organisms

· Handloom for weaving ornamental jute fabrics

· Mini carding machine for cotton

· Double roller ginning machine with self-grooving rubber roller

· Coconut fibre segregator machine

Process protocols and valuye added products

· Green chilli powder

· Animal feed pellets from potato processing waste and culled potatoes

· Prefabricated Grass Carpet with natural fibre-based backing material

· Mulching Sheet from Jute Nonwoven

· Nano-cellulose powder from cotton

· Process for extraction of jute fibre by dry retting

All about foods and post harvest operations