Village adoption is a unique program conceptualized and being implemented by NIFTEM for its students since 2012, with a view to sensitize and educate them of the problems and practices of the farmers at the grass root level. The aim is to help the Indian Food Processing sector accomplish its objective of all- inclusive growth and facilitate the process of integrating the underprivileged sections of our population with the main stream economy

• Under this programme, B. Tech (Food Technology & Management) and M. Tech students are divided into groups of 10 to 12 students at the time of joining NIFTEM.
• Each group is lead by a Faculty member (Mentor) and adopts a village anywhere in India and nurses it during the entire programme of study.
• The Groups go and stay in the village twice a year: 10 to 12 days each time in every semester. It is a symbiotic process leading to exchange of Knowledge.
• while villagers gain scientific and technical knowledge through students who promote future possibilities of food processing among them, students obtain firsthand experience of Indian rural scenario and understand traditional processing technologies adopted by the villagers.
• Students gain general awareness of the village life and facilitate the process of integrating the underprivileged sections of our population with the main stream.
• Students learn to contribute towards “Nation Building”.

• The students shall have to identify a village and establish a work plan at the beginning of the first semester and work during the semester for 10-12 days at the village site
• The students will work in a group under the guidance of a mentor faculty and will develop realistic village development plan for 4 years including identification of local resources and avenues for promoting entrepreneurship in food processing sector.
• Sensitize and train the farmers and local youth about Food Processing and its advantages- Encourage farmers & local youth to become Entrepreneurs, establish micro and small Food Processing Enterprises, form Producer’s Company and establish Food Processing Units.
• Provide access and training programs to farmers
• Prepare a catalogue of traditional food production practices/ food preservation/ traditional recipes of food, etc.
• Imparting trainings on basic processing and value addition techniques for enhancement of shelf life, etc.
• Promote Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
• Conduct an extensive survey of the village & record demographics and prepare a data base.
• Organize resources - By providing vital linkages, micro credits, Govt. Policies.
• Prepare and present a report at the end of each semester.
• In addition, Professors and Senior Officers of NIFTEM visit the groups as observers when the groups are in the village to guide them and closely evaluate their progress.

Owing to the success of first session of village adoption programme (29.10.2012-03.11.2012), NIFTEM undertook the regular subsequent visits under its innovative programme till date. So far Eight visits has been accomplished viz., second (11-16th March 2013), third (30th June-09th July, 2013), fourth, (19-27th October, 2013), fifth (23-29th December, 2013, sixth (02-11th March, 2014), seventh (17-26 September2015) and eighth (15-24 March 2015) . During the Eighth village adoption programme, 36 teams of NIFTEM visited 39 villages in 18 States of the Country. The details of the locations are presented in Table at Annexure I.

• Food Processing promotional Initiatives
• Entrepreneurship Development
• Preparation project reports
• Product Development processes
• Developing Market Linkages
• Cataloguing of traditional knowledge
• Make in India initiatives through VAP
• Infrastructure Development
• Social Issues addressed
• Sawachh Bharat Abhiyan through VAP
• Initiatives on promotion of Renewable energy utilization