Lok Sabha Question No. 129 (STARRED), answered on 2017-07-25
Subject: Post Harvest Storage
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: ARVIND GANPAT SAWANT, KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 129 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25 TH    JULY, 2017

## POST HARVEST STORAGE

*129. SHRI ARVIND SAWANT: SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  post  harvest  storage  of  agricultural  produces  is  a  big problem of the farmers in the country;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  corrective  steps  taken  by  the Government in this regard; and
- (c) the  effective  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  prevent  damage  to foodgrains due to natural calamities such as floods, droughts and frost?

A N S W E R MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI RAMVILAS PASWAN)

(a) to (c): A statement is laid on the table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  to  (c)  OF  THE STARRED QUESTION NO. 129 DUE FOR ANSWER ON 25.07.2017 IN THE LOK SABHA

(a):  With  the  increasing production of foodgrains, pulses and oil seeds in the country more post harvest storage facilities will be required. Similarly, the horticulture sector has seen a robust growth during last 10 years. The estimated production of fruits and vegetables for the year 2016-17 is 287 Million  MT  which  is  more  than  the  estimated  production  of  foodgrains which is 272 Million MT. In view of this growth in horticulture sector more cold chain infrastructure is required in the country.

(b):  As  per  data  of  Department  of  Agriculture,  Cooperation  &  Farmers Welfare, the gap in cold chain infrastructure is as follows:

|   SL | Component                              | Existing Capacity (2014)   | Approximate Requirement   |
|------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------|---------------------------|
|    1 | Integrated Pack Houses                 | 250 numbers                | 70,000 numbers            |
|    2 | Reefer Trucks                          | Less than 10,000 numbers   | 62,000 numbers            |
|    3 | Cold stores (Bulk & distribution hubs) | 320 lakh MT                | 350 lakh MT               |
|    4 | Ripening Chambers                      | 800 numbers                | 9000 numbers              |

To  strengthen  cold  storage  facilities  the  Government  is  implementing following schemes:

- i. Mission  for  Integrated  Development  of  Horticulture  (MIDH): Department of Agriculture Cooperation &  Farmers Welfare is implementing  MIDH  by  subsuming  the  schemes  such  as National  Horticulture  Mission  (NHM),  Horticulture  Mission  for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH), Coconut Development Board (CDB), and Central Institute of Horticulture (CIH) under which financial assistance is provided for various activities on horticulture development from production to post harvest management including establishment of cold storage infrastructure.  The  assistance  is  available  in  the  form  of subsidy  @  35%  (for  general  areas)  and  50%  (for  hilly  and scheduled areas) of capital cost of the project for both public and  private  sector  enterprises.  The  component  is  demand/ entrepreneur  driven  through  commercial  ventures  for  which Government assistance is credit linked and back ended.

- ii. Scheme of Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI): Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing a Central Sector Scheme on  Cold-chain,  Value  Addition  and  Preservation  Infrastructure  since 2008-09. The financial assistance is provided in the form of grant-inaid @ 35% - 50% of the total cost of plant & machinery and technical civil  works  subject  to  a  maximum  of  Rs.10.00  Cr  per  project,  for setting  up  the  Cold-  chain  infrastructure.  Integrated  Cold-chain  and preservation  infrastructure  can  be  set  up  by  individuals,  group  of entrepreneurs, cooperative societies, Self Help Groups (SHGs), Farmer  Producer's  Organizations  (FPOs),  NGOs,  Central/State  PSUs, etc.
- iii. Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority  (APEDA):  Ministry  of  Commerce  through  Agricultural  & Processed  Food  Products  Export  Development  Authority  (APEDA) provides 90% grant-in-aid to State  Government agencies for setting up  of  common  infrastructure  including  cold  storage  facilities  for export oriented units. Assistance to private exporters is also available up to 40% as subsidy with a ceiling of Rs.7.50 lakh to Rs. 75.00  lakh  for  different  post-harvest  components  including  cold storages.
- iv. National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC): NCDC provides  financial  assistance  for  setting  up  of  cold  storages  in cooperative sector. NCDC has dovetailed its cold storage programme with  Capital  Investment  Subsidy  Scheme  of  MIDH  under  which assistance @ 35% - 50% is available.

To augment and modernize the storage facilities Government is implementing the following schemes:

- i. Integrated Scheme for Agriculture Marketing (ISAM): Under Integrated  Scheme for  Agricultural  Marketing  (ISAM),  the  subsidy  @ 25%  of  the  capital  cost  for  general  category  beneficiaries  and  @ 33.33% for special category beneficiaries is provided for construction/creation  of  scientific  godowns,  their  renovation  and other infrastructure in field of agricultural marketing.
- ii. Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme: Under this Scheme, storage capacity is created by private parties, Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and State Agencies for guaranteed hiring by FCI. A capacity  of  138.51  lakh  MT  has  already  been  completed  as  on 30.06.2017.
- iii. Central  Sector  Scheme:  This  scheme  is  focussed  on  the  North Eastern  States.  Funds  are  released  by  the  Government  to  FCI  and also directly to the State Governments for construction of godowns. During 12 th  Five Year Plan, a capacity of 1,17,680 MT in North Eastern (NE)  States  and  20,000  MT  in  other  than  NE  States  has  been completed by FCI. Further, a capacity of 51,795 MT has been created by State Governments.

- iv. Construction  of  steel  silos:  Government  of  India  has  also  approved action  plan  for  construction  of  steel  silos  in  the  country  for  a capacity of 100 LMT in 3 phases. Against the target of 36.25 LMT for selection of silo operators in Phase-I, tenders have been awarded for 37.50 LMT. Further, 6.25 LMT silos have been added under the above action plan, in addition to 5.5 LMT silos already available with FCI.
2. (c):  The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Food Corporation of India (FCI) &  Central  Warehousing  Corporation  (CWC)  have  prescribed  standard specifications for construction of foodgrain storage godowns. While taking up  construction,  the  central  agencies  namely  FCI  &  CWC  and  State Agencies follow the prescribed construction design for godowns in order to ensure that the foodgrains are protected from natural calamities like rains and  floods.  Similarly,  only  scientifically  constructed  godowns  are  hired from  private  parties.  In  addition,  FCI  takes  the  following  steps  to  avoid damage to foodgrains:
1. Foodgrains  are  stored  in  scientifically  constructed  godowns.  Some foodgrains are stored for short periods in CAP (cover and plinth)  in peak procurement season.
2. Adequate dunnage materials such as wooden crates, bamboo mats, polythene sheets are used to check migration of moisture from the floor to the foodgrains.
3. Prophylactic (spraying of insecticides) and curative treatments (fumigation)  are  carried  out  regularly  and  fumigation  covers,  nylon ropes, nets etc are provided for control of insects & pests in all the godowns.
4. Regular periodic  inspections  of  the  stocks/godowns are  undertaken by qualified and trained staff and officers.
5. The principle of 'First  in  First  Out'  (FIFO)  is  followed  to  the  extent possible so as to avoid longer storage of foodgrains in godowns.
6. Only covered rail wagons are used for movement of foodgrains so as to avoid damage during transit.
7. Damage Monitoring Cells have been set up at District, Regional and Zonal  levels  to  regularly  monitor  quality  of  stocks  and  reduce damages.

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