Editorial

Strategy of reducing post-harvest losses

Sentinel Digital Desk

The climate change impact assessment carried out by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has projected that rainfed rice yields in India are projected to reduce by 20% in 2050 and 47% in 2080 due to climate change impacts in the absence of adaptation measures. Apart from climate-resilient seeds and other adaptation measures, reducing post-harvest losses in rain-fed states like Assam has been seen as a key strategy to protect farmers from the shocks of climate change. Large excess or large deficit rains and unpredictability in rainfall patterns due to climate change have made things worse for small and marginal farmers who grapple with recurring and multiple waves of floods and loss of farmland due to unabated erosion. Due to inadequate irrigation coverage, productivity and production remain much lower, so the sustainability of rainfed farming has become challenging. According to the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering & Technology (CIPHET), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the economic value of quantitative losses of 45 major crops and commodities (cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, plantation crops, spices, livestock, and fisheries produce) was found to be in the tune of Rs 92,651 crore in 2015. Cereals, pulses, and oilseeds account for the largest share of 35% of total post-harvest losses, while fruits account for 17.7% and vegetables for 16%. While schemes and projects aimed at reducing post-harvest losses have been articulated when it comes to Assam and other northeastern states, slow-paced execution presents a gloomy scenario. The Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain, Value Addition, and Preservation Infrastructure is a component of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the objectives of which are to reduce post-harvest losses of horticulture and non-horticulture produce and provide remunerative prices to farmers for their produce. Under the scheme, the Ministry provides financial assistance in the form of grant-in-aid at the rate of 35% for general areas and 50% for north-eastern and Himalayan States for storage and transport infrastructure. Financial assistance between 50% and 75% is provided for value addition and processing infrastructure, subject to a maximum grant-in-aid of Rs 10 crore per project for the setting up of integrated cold chain projects, including an irradiation facility. Likewise, under the Capital Investment Subsidy for Construction/Expansion/Modernization of Cold Storages and Storages for Horticulture Products Scheme Implemented by the National Horticulture Board, a credit-linked back-ended subsidy is available at the rate of 35% of the capital cost of the project in general areas and 50% in the case of the Northeast, hilly, and scheduled areas for the construction, expansion, and modernization of cold storage and controlled atmosphere storage with capacities above 5000 MT and up to 10000 MT. In the northeast region, units with a capacity above 1000 MT are also eligible for assistance, according to scheme guidelines. Besides the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), there is provision for a collateral-free term loan up to Rs 2 crore and an interest subvention of 3% on the term loan availed for the creation of post-harvest infrastructure, including the establishment of cold storages. In the absence of storage and cold chain facilities closer to their farmlands, farmers in the state and the region are not in a position to negotiate prices for their produce and sell it to traders at the nearest markets at the price that traders are willing to pay, which is often less than the remunerative price. Such distress selling has made farmers more susceptible to losses due to the impact of climate change and the extreme weather conditions resulting from it. Over the past eight years, the ICAR has released 2681 high-yielding and stress-tolerant varieties and hybrids of 2279 field and 402 horticultural crops for different agro-climatic conditions. If adequate storage infrastructure and cold storage are not created in the region, post-harvest losses of even stress-resistant varieties will continue to grip farmers in the state and elsewhere in the region. Official data shows that altogether 351 projects of storage infrastructure with a total of 10.80 lakh MT capacity have been sanctioned for Assam, for which the central government has released subsidies of Rs 68 crore till February, while the state has so far set up 43 cold storages. Full realisation of the sanctioned storage infrastructure at the earliest will be a boon for farmers, provided the cost of renting space in the storage and cold storage facilities remains affordable for small and marginal farmers. While it may not be possible for an individual small or marginal farmer to afford the cost, for farmer-producer companies or farmer cooperatives, these storages will go a long way in reducing post-harvest losses for member farmers, augmenting income, and increasing negotiating capacity to avoid distress selling. The creation of the storage infrastructure and cold chain in the state will also improve the aggregation of farm produce for export. The pace of building the storage infrastructure in the state and the region needs to be accelerated before the impact of climate change becomes worse for farmers.