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Agroprocessing pilot facility

The agroprocessing pilot facility houses many different types of post-harvesting equipment such as washers, centrifuges, cutters, slicers, pulpers, pressers, driers, blenders, mills, sieves and extruding processing equipment. This speciality equipment is used to process selected plant and food raw materials, followed by drying and particle-size reduction. Products are either packaged as final products, or if required, can be further extracted in the agroprocessing extractions facility. These materials typically find commercial applications in various nutraceutical or cosmeceutical formulations and incorporate various forms of indigenous knowledge throughout the product development cycle. The maximum pilot-scale material batch size for this area is 1 000 kg per day. It is also used to train small, medium and micro enterprises and indigenous knowledge holders in agroprocessing production methods.

Contact Person

Kersch Naidoo

Key Concept

Agroprocessing
The agro-processing industry is a subset of manufacturing that processes raw materials and intermediate products derived from the agricultural sector. It means transforming products that originate from agriculture, forestry and fisheries.