Minister of state for food processing and jal shakti Prahlad Singh Patel has said that the rights of farmers will be protected while modernizing the food processing sector of the country. He was visiting the CSIR - National Institute For Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) at Pappanamcode in Thiruvananthapuram. Scientists at the Institute appraised the minister of the activities of NIIST. He watched the presentation on the progress of various projects of the Institute. The Minister visited various labs at NIIST. The officials briefed Patel about the eco-friendly products manufactured at NIIST.

He also planted a sapling on the NIIST campus.

Prahlad Singh Patel later visited the miniter of external affairs and parliamentary affairs, V. Muraleedharan is undergoing treatment at KIMS hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.