New Delhi: The Government has got a study done on “Assessment of Quantitative Harvest and Post-Harvest Losses of Major Crops and Commodities in India” by ICAR – Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana. The study was commissioned in 2012 and the final report submitted on 31.03.2015. The study has estimated that annual value of harvest and post-harvest losses of major agricultural produces at national level was of the order of Rs. 92,651 crore calculated using production data of 2012-13 at 2014 wholesale prices. The percentage of post-harvest losses as assessed by the study areas under:
| Crops | Cumulative wastage (%) |
| 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 |
It has been the endeavor of the Government to promote food processing industry in the country to reduce wastage of agricultural produce and minimize post- harvest losses. With the above in view, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is implementing various Central Sector Schemes, namely (i) Mega Food Parks. (ii) Integrated Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure (iii) Setting up/ Modernization of Abattoirs and (iv) Scheme for Quality Assurance, Research & Development and Other Promotional Activities. Ministry also has 2 academic cum research institutes viz. National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management(NIFTEM) and Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology(IICPT) both of which offer B.Tech, M.Tech and PhD programmes and undertake research in food processing.
In addition, National Horticulture Mission (NHM) and National Horticulture Board (NHB), under Department of Agriculture, Cooperation& Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture& Farmers Welfare are also providing assistance for setting up cold storages under their respective schemes.
State wise funds are not allocated under scheme of Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure. However, details of funds released during the last three yearsand current year to the integrated cold chain projects located in Himachal Pradesh under the scheme of Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure are as under:
|
Year |
Expenditure (Rs. Crore) |
| 2013-14 | 10.50 |
| 2014-15 | 6.57 |
| 2015-16 | 18.03 |
| 2016-17 | 3.13( As on 29.11.2016) |
This information was given by the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
55 comments