Question : Wastage of Fruits and Vegetables

(a) whether about 30 per cent of fruits and vegetables grown in the country get wasted annually due to gaps in cold chain, and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government is considering to build cold storages and cold chains in various States of the country, and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether it is a fact that gaps in cold chain result in farmers not getting remunerative price leading to farmers'' frustrations and suicides, and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government is considering to use refrigerated containers with solar photovoltaic panels fixed on their rooftops independent of power grid, to transport freshly harvested produce, strategically placed at various locations in farms across the country to close gaps in the cold chain; and

(e) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

???? ??? ????? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? (SHRI PARSHOTTAM RUPALA)

(a): A study was commissioned by Ministry of Food Processing Industries and carried out by Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering & Technology (CIPHET), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), published in 2015. The study estimated that quantum of quantitative harvest and post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables were in the range of 6.70% to 15.88% (fruits) and 4.58% to 12.44% (vegetables) due to various reasons such as harvesting, cleaning, sorting/grading, packaging, transportation, storage channels, weight loss in storage etc.


(b) & (c): In order to assess gaps in cold chain, a study on All India Cold-chain Infrastructure Capacity (AICIC-2015) was conducted by NCCD- NABCONS. As per this study status of cold chain infrastructure created and required is as under:
Contd…2/-


-2-
S. No. Component Existing Capacity(2014) Approximate Requirement
1. Integrated Pack Houses 250 numbers 70,000 numbers
2. Reefer Trucks <10,000 numbers 62,000 numbers
3. Cold stores (Bulk & distribution hubs) 32 million tonnes 35 million tonnes
4. Ripening Chambers 800 numbers 9000 numbers

In order to create post harvest infrastructure including cold storages and cold chains in various States of the country, Government is implementing the following schemes/missions for enhancing the storage capacity for perishable fruits and vegetables:

i. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) of DAC&FW
ii. Integrated cold chain Scheme of MOFPI:
iii. Scheme of Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under Ministry of Commerce
iv. Integrated Scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM)

Under these schemes, financial assistance is provided to farmers/entrepreneurs for setting up cold storages/cold chain infrastructure. Under MIDH credit linked back ended subsidy @ 35% of the project cost in general areas and 50% in case of hilly and schedule areas is available for creation post harvest management infrastructure like cold storage/cold chain infrastructure. The component is demand/ entrepreneur driven from entrepreneurs, private companies, cooperatives, farmers groups etc through commercial ventures for which Government assistance is credit linked and back ended.

(d) & (e): No proposal is under consideration of Government for use of refrigerated containers with solar photovoltaic panels fixed on their rooftops. However, under MIDH, there is provision of credit linked back ended subsidy of 35-50 % for reefer container for use on existing chassis trailors with admissible cost of maximum Rs. 6.00 lakh/ 9 MT (20’ container) and Solar PV panels or solar thermal system with admissible cost of Rs. 35.00 lakh/project.


********