Lok Sabha Question No. 2403 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-03
Subject: Cold Storage and Warehousing in Assam
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Abdul Khaleque

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2403

TO BE ANSWERED ON 3 rd  AUGUST, 2021

## COLD STORAGE AND WAREHOUSING IN ASSAM

2403.  SHRI ABDUL KHALEQUE:

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

- (a) whether there are adequate number of cold storage and warehouse facilities in Assam;
- (b) the  ideal  number  of  such  facilities  required  in  the  State  and  the  existing number thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has any plan with a definite time frame to make up for the shortage, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government will consider  establishing such storage  facilities in Barpeta, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the details of the estimated value of food grains wasted in the last five years due to lack of storage facility in the State, year-wise?

## ANSWER

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) to (d): As  per  a  study  on  'All  India  Cold-chain  Infrastructure  Capacity (AICIC-2015) conducted by NABARD Consultancy Service (NABCONS) reported 318.23  lakh  MT  existing  capacity  of  cold  storages  against  required  capacity  of 351.00 lakh MT in the country. Further, NABCONS reported 1.19 lakh MT existing capacity of cold storages against required capacity of 0.72 lakh MT in the State of Assam. At present, there are 41 cold storages having capacity of 1.97 lakh MT in Assam. Further, there are 41 warehouses with capacity of 4.56 lakh MT in Assam.

Government  is  implementing  various schemes  under  which  financial assistance is provided for setting up of cold storages and warehouses throughout the country including Barpeta State of Assam. These Schemes are demand/entrepreneur driven schemes.

Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is implementing Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) under which financial assistance is provided  for  various  horticulture  activities  including  setting  up  of  cold  storages. The component is demand/entrepreneur driven for which Government assistance in the form of credit linked back ended subsidy is available at the rate of 35% of the project cost in general areas and at the rate of 50% of the project cost in hilly and scheduled areas.

Besides,  National  Horticulture  Board  (NHB)  is  implementing  a  scheme namely 'Capital Investment Subsidy for Construction/Expansion /Modernization of Cold Storages and Storages for Horticulture Products'. Under the scheme, credit linked back-ended subsidy at the rate of 35% of the capital cost of the project in general  areas  and  50%  in  case  of  North  East,  hilly  &  scheduled  areas  for construction/expansion/modernization of cold storage and controlled atmosphere (CA) storage of capacity above 5000 MT and up to 10000 MT is available. In case of North East region, the units with capacity above 1000 MT are also eligible for assistance.

Further, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) is implementing a Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure as  one  of  the  component  of  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  Sampada  Yojana  with  the objective  of  reducing  post-harvest  losses  of  horticulture  and  non-horticulture produce and providing remunerative price to farmers for their produce. Under the scheme, Ministry provides financial assistance  in  the  form  of  grant-in-aid  at  the rate  of  35%  for  general  areas  and  50%  for  North  East  and  Himalayan  States, ITDP areas and Islands for storage and transport infrastructure and at the rate of 50% and 75% respectively for value addition and processing infrastructure subject to a maximum grant-in-aid of Rs. 10 crore per project for setting up integrated cold chain projects including irradiation facility. The integrated cold chain and preservation infrastructure can be set up by individuals, groups of entrepreneurs, cooperative societies, Self Help Groups (SHGs), Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), NGOs, Central/State PSUs, etc.

Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is implementing Agricultural  Marketing  Infrastructure (AMI),  a  sub-scheme of  Integrated  Scheme for  Agricultural  Marketing  (ISAM)  across  the  country  including  Assam.  AMI  is demand driven,  credit  linked,  back  ended  subsidy  scheme.  Under  the  scheme, subsidy  at  the  rate  of  25%  for  plain  areas  and  33.33%  for  NER,  hilly  area  is available for beneficiaries viz, Farmers, Individuals, Agri-preneurs, Farmer Producer  Organizations  (FPOs),  Cooperatives,  and  state  agencies  etc.  for development  of  Agricultural  Marketing  Infrastructure  Projects  including  storage infrastructure.

(e): A  study  was  commissioned  by  Ministry  of  Food  Processing  Industries  to assess the harvest and post-harvest losses in food grains due to various reasons including lack of  storage.  The  study  was  conducted  by  Central  Institute  of  Post Harvest  Engineering  &  Technology  (CIPHET),  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural Research  (ICAR),  published  in  2015.  As  per  this  report,  details  of  harvest  and post-harvest  percentage  average  losses  in  various  crops  in  the  country  are  at Annexure.

There is no such study conducted after 2015 by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.

| Sr. No   | Name of Crops/ commodities   | %average loss   |
|----------|------------------------------|-----------------|
|          | Cereals                      |                 |
| 1.       | Paddy                        | 5.53            |
| 2.       | Wheat                        | 4.93            |
| 3.       | Maize                        | 4.65            |
| 4.       | Bajra                        | 5.23            |
| 5.       | Sorghum                      | 5.99            |
|          | Pulses                       |                 |
| 6.       | Pigeon Pea                   | 6.36            |
| 7.       | Chick Pea                    | 8.41            |
| 8.       | Black Gram                   | 7.07            |
| 9.       | Green Gram                   | 6.60            |
|          | Oilseed                      |                 |
| 10.      | Mustard                      | 5.54            |
| 11.      | Cottonseed                   | 3.08            |
| 12.      | Soybean                      | 9.96            |
| 13.      | Safflower                    | 3.24            |
| 14.      | Sunflower                    | 5.26            |
| 15.      | Groundnut                    | 6.03            |
|          | Fruits                       |                 |
| 16.      | Apple                        | 10.39           |
| 17.      | Banana                       | 7.76            |
| 18.      | Citrus                       | 9.69            |
| 19.      | Grapes                       | 8.63            |
| 20.      | Guava                        | 15.88           |
| 21.      | Mango                        | 9.16            |
| 22.      | Papaya                       | 6.70            |
| 23.      | Sapota                       | 9.73            |
|          | Vegetables                   |                 |
| 24.      | Onion                        | 8.20            |
| 25.      | Tomato                       | 12.44           |
| 26.      | Cabbage                      | 9.37            |
| 27.      | Cauliflower                  | 9.56            |
| 28.      | Green Pea                    | 7.45            |
| 29.      | Potato                       | 7.32            |
| 30.      | Mushroom                     | 9.51            |
| 31.      | Tapioca                      | 4.58            |
|          | Livestock Produce            |                 |
| 32.      | Egg                          | 7.19            |
| 33.      | Inland Fish                  | 5.23            |
| 34.      | Marine Fish                  | 10.52           |
| 35.      | Meat                         | 2.71            |
| 36.      | Poultry Meat                 | 6.74            |
| 37.      | Milk                         | 0.92            |
|          | Plantation Crops and Spices  |                 |
| 38.      | Arecanut                     | 4.91            |
| 39.      | Black Pepper                 | 1.18            |
| 40.      | Cashew                       | 4.17            |
| 41.      | Chilli                       | 6.51            |
| 42.      | Coconut                      | 4.77            |
| 43.      | Coriander                    | 5.87            |
| 44.      | Sugarcane                    | 7.89            |
| 45.      | Turmeric                     | 4.44            |

Source:  Harvest and Post Harvest Losses of Major Crops and Livestock Produce in India. All India Coordinated Research Project on Post Harvest Technology, (ICAR), Ludhiana (2015).

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