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.
*********
MJPS