IRPS to make rice mills become more profitable
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
FE Report
The small and medium rice mills will become more profitable by introducing improved rice parboiling system (IRPS) as it would be able to save 50 per cent of the rice husk used as fuel. Millions of tons of rice husk that would be saved can be utilized as animal feed, produce briquette and other goods.
The IRPS is safe, less polluting, less hazardous, more convenient, environment and worker friendly and economically viable, speakers revealed Tuesday at a roundtable discussion "Environment and Energy Friendly Rice Parboiling Syetem".
"We want to work in this regard with policy and legal support for any good initiatives that would be cost-effective," Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said at the discussion jointly organised by Energy and Power, a fortnightly magazine, and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
Speaking as the chief guest, the minister assured of all government support to any appropriate agro-processing technology that would benefit the national economy as well as save energy and protect the environment.
The new improved technology of rice boiling developed by local experts with support from GTZ would save half the rice husk millers now use to boil paddy while the heat the traditional system wastes could be captured in generating electricity.
The installation costs for the system would be of Tk 300,000 per unit while the rice millers are likely to save the amount invested within six months. It would also help protect environment pollution in the surrounding areas of a rice mill.
A large number of rice millers from across the country attended the roundtable. They demanded access to easy term loans to facilitate installation of the technology at their mills. Technology experts, including participants from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), advocated for the millers to get low-cost finance.
The Agriculture Minister took interest in the innovative technology as she compared it with "boiling paddy in a pressure cooker" that saves time and energy.
The small and medium rice mills will become more profitable by introducing improved rice parboiling system (IRPS) as it would be able to save 50 per cent of the rice husk used as fuel. Millions of tons of rice husk that would be saved can be utilized as animal feed, produce briquette and other goods.
The IRPS is safe, less polluting, less hazardous, more convenient, environment and worker friendly and economically viable, speakers revealed Tuesday at a roundtable discussion "Environment and Energy Friendly Rice Parboiling Syetem".
"We want to work in this regard with policy and legal support for any good initiatives that would be cost-effective," Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said at the discussion jointly organised by Energy and Power, a fortnightly magazine, and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
Speaking as the chief guest, the minister assured of all government support to any appropriate agro-processing technology that would benefit the national economy as well as save energy and protect the environment.
The new improved technology of rice boiling developed by local experts with support from GTZ would save half the rice husk millers now use to boil paddy while the heat the traditional system wastes could be captured in generating electricity.
The installation costs for the system would be of Tk 300,000 per unit while the rice millers are likely to save the amount invested within six months. It would also help protect environment pollution in the surrounding areas of a rice mill.
A large number of rice millers from across the country attended the roundtable. They demanded access to easy term loans to facilitate installation of the technology at their mills. Technology experts, including participants from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), advocated for the millers to get low-cost finance.
The Agriculture Minister took interest in the innovative technology as she compared it with "boiling paddy in a pressure cooker" that saves time and energy.