Post-harvest losses occur between harvest times and the selling of crops in the market and retail stores. It has far-reaching implications from economic, social, environmental, nutritional, and health concerns.
Globally, close to one-third of the food production is lost or wasted annually. In India, on average, 40% of food production is lost and wasted. In most countries, including India, post-harvest losses have direct potential effects on national food security as it curtails the availability, accessibility, utilisation, and stability of food supply as well as the achievement of the goal to double Indian farmers’ income.
Impact on the Indian Economy and Environment
The agriculture sector employs over 50% of the Indian workforce and contributes 20% to the country’s GDP. The income and livelihood of millions of farmers, daily labourers, traders, millers, and sellers are dependent on the crops harvested. As the quality and quantity of food products decrease due to post-harvest losses, it creates a negative multiplier monetary impact on the income generation of everyone in the value chains. Around 65% of India’s population lives on less than EUR 1.50 a day. Prevention of post-harvest losses ensures enough food is available for poor households and elevates income levels above the poverty line.
From an environmental perspective, the agriculture sector consumes 80% of India’s water consumption and 20% of India’s national consumption. Loss of 40% of crops annually due to post-harvest losses has a significant impact on India’s water and power consumption efficiency, thus increasing water scarcity and greenhouse emissions. At the same time, post-harvest losses put greater pressure on cultivatable lands, which can cause environmental destruction. The prevention of losses at the initial stages in food supply chains can increase the availability of food and raise farmers’ income without requiring additional land, investment, and resources.
Innovation-Driven Initiative to Tackle Post-Harvest Loss in India
The IGCC SustainMarkets is set to launch its innovation-driven initiative to tackle post-harvest losses in select value chains in India on 8 March in a virtual kick-off event “Supporting India’s Agriculture Sector against Post-Harvest Losses”. The initiative will focus on four selected value chains: tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and apples.
The initiative aims to develop a digital innovation platform and promote agile innovation solutions through a hybrid trade fair format driven by Indian start-ups to establish innovation partnerships to reduce post-harvest losses.
The initiative is organised within the framework of the “Innovation platform and hybrid trade fair - Reducing post-harvest losses in India” Project assisted by the German Government, carried out by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Member companies and partners looking to participate in this initiative, please don’t hesitate to contact Indras Ghosh at indras.ghosh@indo-german.com
