Lok Sabha Question No. 1228 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-18
Subject: Wastage of Agricultural Produces
Ministry: FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Asked by: M. CHANDRAKASI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1228 ANSWERED ON 18 TH  DECEMBER, 2018

## WASTAGE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCES

## 1228.  SHRI M. CHANDRAKASI:

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

- (a) the  level  of  wastage  of  agricultural  produces  including  milk,  meat,  fish,  etc.  in  the country;
- (b) the  effectiveness  of  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  prevent  wastage  of  all  types  of agricultural produces in the country;
- (c) whether  any  long  term  measures  have  been  initiated/taken  to  fully  stop  wastage  of agricultural  produces  in  the  country  by  identifying  problem  areas,  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (d) the details of the schemes/ programmes of the Union Government available for setting up of food processing/ preservation units by individual farmers/ fishermen etc.?

## 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 2010 and in 2015, the estimated cumulative percentages of annual harvest and post-harvest losses of major agricultural produces are as follows:

|                       | Cumulative wastage (percent)           | Cumulative wastage (percent)           |
|-----------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| Agricultural Produces | as per report 2010 (Crop Year 2005-06) | as per report 2015 (Crop Year 2012-13) |
| Cereals               | 3.9 - 6.0                              | 4.65 - 5.99                            |
| Pulses                | 4.3 - 6.1                              | 6.36 - 8.41                            |
| Oil seeds             | 2.8 - 10.1                             | 3.08 - 9.96                            |
| Fruits &Vegetables    | 5.8 - 18.0                             | 4.58 - 15.88                           |
| Milk                  | 0.8                                    | 0.92                                   |
| Fisheries (Inland)    | 6.9                                    | 5.23                                   |
| Fisheries (Marine)    | 2.9                                    | 10.52                                  |
| Meat                  | 2.3                                    | 2.71                                   |
| Poultry               | 3.7                                    | 6.74                                   |

(b) to (d): The shortage ofefficient 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.  MoFPIis 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 Infrastructureand (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  farmers,  Farmer  Producer  Organizations,  entrepreneurs,  cooperatives,  societies, 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,  as  announced  in  the  budget  speech  of  Union  Budget  2018-19, MoFPI  is  implementing  a  new  Central  Sector  Scheme  for  '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  in  addition  to  short  term  pricestabilisationcomponent  to  prevent crashing of prices of the TOP crops during the time of glut.

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