Lok Sabha Question No. 3382 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-01-01
Subject: Percentage of Food Wastage
Ministry: FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Asked by: KRISHN PRATAP SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3382

ANSWERED ON 1 ST  JANUARY, 2019.

## PERCENTAGE OF FOOD WASTAGE

## 3382.  DR. KRISHAN PRATAP:

Will the Minister of FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the percentage of agriculture food products in the country that got wasted during the last three years, product-wise;
- (b) the  reduction  in  wastage  percentage  of  agriculture  products  achieved  with  the  help  of Government schemes and programmes in the country during the above period;
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  take  a  new  initiative  to  identify  areas  where  the waste  percentage  of  these  products  is  high  because  of  poor  infrastructure  for  food processing in order to resolve the aforesaid issues; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

- (a): As  per  study,  'Assessment  of  Quantitative  Harvest  and  Post-Harvest  Losses  of  Major Crops and Commodities in India' carried out by Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana in 2015, the estimated cumulative percentages of annual harvest and post-harvest losses of major agricultural produces are as follows:

| Agricultural Produces   | Cumulative Percentage of Losses   |
|-------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| Cereals                 | 4.65 - 5.99                       |
| Pulses                  | 6.36 - 8.41                       |
| Oil seeds               | 3.08 - 9.96                       |
| Fruits &Vegetables      | 4.58 - 15.88                      |
| Milk                    | 0.92                              |
| Fisheries (Inland)      | 5.23                              |
| Fisheries (Marine)      | 10.52                             |
| Meat                    | 2.71                              |
| Poultry                 | 6.74                              |

(b) to (d): The shortage of efficient harvest and post-harvest infrastructure coupled with lack of adequate food processing industries/units are the major identified problem areas for wastage of agricultural produces in the country. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is seized of these problems and has been implementing various Central Sector Schemes for overall development of food processing sector in the country including reducing of wastage.  MoFPI is now  implementing  the  Central  Sector  Scheme  of  PRDHAN  MANTRI  KISAN  SAMPADA YOJANA (PMKSY) with an allocation of  Rs. 6,000 crore for period 2016-20 co-terminus with the 14 th  Finance Commission cycle. PMKSY has seven component schemes viz; (i) Mega Food Parks, (ii) Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, (iii) Infrastructure for AgroProcessing Clusters, (iv) Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages, (v) Creation/Expansion of  Food  Processing  &  Preservation  Capacities,  (vi)  Food  Safety  and  Quality  Assurance Infrastructure  and (vii)  Human  Resources  and  Institutions.   The  PMKSY  is  designed  to  create robust modern infrastructure along the entire value chain in food processing with a view to, inter alia,  reduce  wastage  and  improve  the  supply  position  of  quality  food  products  to  various locations.  The  individuals,  Farmer  Producer  Organizations,  entrepreneurs,  cooperatives,  Self Help Groups, Private Companies and State PSUs etc. are eligible to avail financial assistance in the  form  of  grants-in-aid  under  these  schemes  for  setting  up  food  processing  projects  in  the country. Also, MoFPI is implementing a new Central Sector Scheme  'Operation Greens' for integrated development of Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP) crops value chain, with an outlay of Rs.500  crore  to  promote  Farmers  Producers  Organizations,  agri-logistics,  processing  facilities and professional management of FPOs in addition to short term price stabilisation component to prevent crashing of prices of the TOP crops during the time of glut.

*****