India is amongst the top 2 producers of fruits and vegetables and is only behind China. But nearly 50% of the harvested crops are thrown away in the landfills due to spoilage. There are multiple reasons for the spoilage- mainly the farming practices, poor harvesting and post-harvest management techniques but a good chunk of wastage is due to the poor storage conditions and lack of knowledge amongst farmers. Especially in Madhya Pradesh, where farmers grow crops like onions, garlic, wheat, soybean, tomatoes etc. face a lot of issue with safe storage, due to which they have to sell their products for less amount as otherwise it will be spoiled. India has seen a surge in the food processing industry in recent times. Almost every state has started coming up with their own policies to initiate and grow the food sector. States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka are at the forefront in adding value to the food sector through their developed policies, infrastructure and government support. Madhya Pradesh, who is the top producer of tomatoes, onions and garlic too has started coming up with ways to support the entrepreneurs in food processing and cold chain sector.
Madhya Pradesh is a top grower of onion, garlic and tomatoes along with wheat (Sehore wheat is considered premium quality wheat). Every year we read the news of price hikes in the market during the offseason while also read the news of farmers throwing away their precious produce just as they couldn’t fetch good prices for it and storing them was not feasible. Commodities like tomato, onion, potatoes and garlic go through heavy fluctuation in wholesale and retail prices every year varying from Rs5–6/ kg wholesale to Rs20/kg. This not only effects the farmers but also the end customer.
There is a high potential for food processing of these crops just like wheat in MP. Moreover, these commodities can be stored for long periods in the controlled atmosphere cold storage as well which will help farmers to store them until they can get a good price for the harvest. There are a lot of warehouses in MP which cater to grains and pulses and some cold storages which cater to storing potatoes only as they are temperature controlled only. There is a need for multi-chamber controlled atmosphere cold storages which control oxygen, carbon dioxide, and most importantly, ethylene to go with humidity and temperature which will help crops like onions, garlic, lemon, tomatoes keep fresh during their storage period and increase the shelf life.
Another area of focus is the value addition and processing of f&v which will not only reduce wastage but increase profits well. The product can be sold for a much higher price in the market. Vardhman Agrofresh, an organisation based in Bhopal, MP is coming up with a CA cold storage- food processing facility for tomatoes and mangoes. The facility is fully equipped with automated machines and will store all major fruits and vegetables grown in Madhya Pradesh. It is one of the first controlled atmosphere cold storage in MP and will let the farmers rent space for storing their precious harvest until they can fetch a better price. Other major crops like potatoes are already being processed heavily for chips and fries etc. Some niche products should be considered as well, such as hummus which is made by chickpea paste. Or soya bean nuggets, soya milk etc. have great demands in the foreign markets as well.
There is huge potential in this sector as over 10 lac MT of raw material available in the state and with good highway connectivity, the finished products can be easily supplied to nearby states like Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra and MP itself. Proper measures and systematic planning by government and influential people is required to initiate the process and develop clusters for food processing in different regions of Madhya Pradesh. This way, farmers will be able to increase their income and sell their harvest with ease. Simultaneously, due to the abundance of raw material, the industrialists will be able to process the material more efficiently and sell in the market at a competitive price.
This way economic condition of the state will improve further and job creation will increase as well.
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