Thiruvananthapuram | As the Centre moves to modernise the food processing sector of the country, it will also protect the rights and interests of farmers, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Food Processing and Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel said here on Friday.

The Minister, who is presently in the southern state, gave the assurance while visiting the CSIR-National Institute For Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) at Pappanamcode here during the day, a government statement said.

Scientists at the Institute apprised the Minister of the activities of NIIST and he also viewed a presentation on the progress of various projects of the institute, it said.

Patel visited various labs at NIIST and the officials briefed him about the eco-friendly products manufactured there, it further said and added that the Minister also planted a sapling in the institute's campus.

He later visited MoS External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan who is undergoing treatment at KIMS hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, it said