Post Harvest Losses of Food grains Decline

The Ministry of Agriculture has taken a number of steps to address the problem of post-harvest losses by way of improving the infrastructural facilities through introducing capital investment subsidy schemes and bringing reforms in agricultural marketing sector so as to facilitate private sector to encourage investment required for development of post-harvest infrastructure.

            The Ministry has launched central sector schemes of National Horticulture Mission, National Horticulture Board, Development/Strengthening of Agricltural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardization and Gramin Bhandaran Yojana for development of various types of post-harvest and storage infrastructures nearer to the farmers’ field and in the supply chain to provide adequate post-harvest and scientific storage facilities for arresting losses.

            The Ministry has also launched Central Sector Scheme of Marketing Research and Information Network since March 2000 with an objective to collect and disseminate price and market related information in respect of different agricultural commodities for the benefit of farmers.  The scheme facilitates the farmers in taking the better post-harvest and marketing decisions which in turn helps to reduce the post-harvest losses.

            The recent study available on post-harvest losses of major agricultural commodities titled as ‘Estimation of Quantative Harvest and Post-Harvest Losses of Major Agricultural Produce in India’ was conducted by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (CIPHET, Ludhiana) during 2005-07 (published in April 2010).  Ministry of Agriculture also conducted a Millennium Study, State of the Indian farmers in the year 2004 on dynamics of Post-harvest losses.

            The comparative commodity-wise details of post-harvest losses of major foodgrains given below in the table indicate that there has been reduction in quantum of losses indicated in the study reported in the Millennium study, 2004 vis-à-vis ICAR study, 2010. 

Estimates of Post-Harvest and Storage Losses (in percentage)

S.No.	Name of major Foodgrains	Average loss as reported in Millennium Study, 2004* (%)	Average losses as reported in ICAR study, 2010**(%)
1	Wheat	8.00	6.0
2	Rice	11.00	5.2
3	Maize	7.50	4.10
4	Jowar	10.00	3.90
5	Bajra	6.00	4.80
6	Gram	9.00	4.30
7	Other Pulses	9.50	5.67

Source:

*State of Indian Farmer-Post harvest Management-A Millennium Study, 2004 (Vol.16).

**Estimation of Quantitative Harvest and Post-harvest Losses of Major Agricultural Produce in India All India Coordinated Research Project on Post-harvest Technology, CIPHET(ICAR), Ludhiana, 2010.

           

            This information was given by Shri Harish Rawat, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.