HYDERABAD, Sept 20: The vice-chancellor of the Sindh Agricultural University, Tandojam, Prof Dr Basheer Ahmed Shaikh, has said that thousands of tonnes of fruits and vegetables go waste due to lack of training.

Inaugurating a week-long training course on “Home Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables” at the university campus on Monday, he said that fruit and vegetables could be preserved for longer periods with the use of latest technology.

The course on “Food technology: A tool for poverty alleviation in rural areas” has been organised by the Department of Food Technology.

He said that the course was aimed at training rural women in techniques to preserve fruit and vegetables. Due to scarce resources and ever-increasing population, it had become necessary not only to increase the production of fruits and vegetables but also to preserve them, he said.

Mr Shaikh said that the Higher Education Commission had extended full support for organising such courses which might prove helpful in alleviating poverty.

The head of the project for poverty alleviation in rural areas, Dr Sagheer Ahmed Shaikh, said that during the weeklong course, women would be trained in preserving fruits and vegetables in the form of jam, jelly, juices, squashes etc. They would in this way be able to earn considerable profit through the sale of such items, he added.

LUMHS: The registrar of the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro, on Wednesday announced revised schedule for submission of admission and entry test forms for MBBS/BDS course for the 2006-07 session.