Lok Sabha Question No. 824 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-02-07
Subject: Wastage of Fruits and Vegetables
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: RAJESH KUMAR DIWAKAR, RANJANBEN BHATT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.824

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 7 TH   FEBRUARY, 2017

## WASTAGE OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

824.      SHRI RAJESH KUMAR DIWAKER: SHRIMATI RANJANBEN BHATT:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (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?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंालय म राय मंी (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:

|   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 .

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