BAPATLA: Agriculture Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu will inaugurate a Rs 6.10-crore modern building complex at the Post Harvest Technology Centre (PHTC) under Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) in Bapatla on Monday.
The new infrastructure, funded through the Centre’s RKVY-RAFTAAR scheme, includes a Rs 4.70-crore Centre of Excellence building and a Rs 1.40-crore Workshop and Training Centre. Established in 1981 and integrated into the ICAR post-harvest engineering network in 1989, the PHTC has spent four decades advancing research on loss reduction, storage, and crop processing.
Alongside the inauguration, the minister will launch ANGRAU’s “Innovative Farmers Network” at the Bapatla Agricultural College auditorium. The initiative aims to accelerate the transfer of farm machinery, processing solutions, and value-addition technologies from laboratories to fields.
The centre has developed pioneering tools such as millet dehullers, curcumin test kits, IoT-based spoilage detectors, solar dryers, and chilli compaction units. Its flagship innovation, ‘AgroBlite’ (Diablite), is a smart rice cooker designed to lower the glycaemic index of rice for diabetic consumers. The facility holds three patents, with five more pending.
Vice-Chancellor Dr Paladugu V Satyanarayana, joined by senior ANGRAU officials, said the upgraded centre will provide advanced laboratory, testing, and training facilities for farmers, students, researchers, and agri-entrepreneurs across the region.