Indiaʼs Post-Harvest Paradox: Exploring Infrastructure Deficits and Opportunities for Food Security
Abstract
This research delved into India's substantial post-harvest losses, highlighting the consequential effects on the country's food and nutritional security. Despite its position as a leading global agricultural producer, India faces pronounced food wastage, largely attributed to suboptimal post-harvest management and infrastructure. The study's objectives were to quantify these losses, ascertain their repercussions on food security, and evaluate the prevailing state of post-harvest facilities. Leveraging secondary data from governmental agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare and the National Centre for Cold Chain Development, the research juxtaposed horticultural data against WHO benchmarks, scrutinized wastage rates of key agricultural products, and gauged the efficacy of the existing cold chain mechanisms. The results revealed a significant increase in agricultural yield, yet a substantial fraction remains unutilized, with perishables like fruits and vegetables bearing the brunt of the wastage. The primary culprits identified were the insufficiency of cold chain amenities and ineffective post-harvest practices. With India's population trajectory on an upward curve, addressing these post-harvest challenges is imperative for fortifying food security. The research accentuates the pressing need for technological advancements, bolstered investments in post-harvest infrastructure, and strategic policy overhauls to curtail these losses and enhance India's food security framework.
References
Agarwal, M., Agarwal, S., Ahmad, S., Singh, R., &Jayahari, K. M. (2021). Food Loss and Waste in India: The Knowns and The Unknowns. World Resources Institute.https://doi.org/10.46830/wriwp.20.00106
Ahmad, K., IrshadYounas, Z., Manzoor, W., &Safdar, N. (2023). Greenhouse gas emissions and corporate social responsibility in USA: A comprehensive study using dynamic panel model. Heliyon, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13979
Aung, M. M., & Chang, Y. S. (2014). Temperature management for the quality assurance of a perishable food supply chain. Food Control, 40(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2013.11.016
Bailey, R. L., West, K. P., & Black, R. E. (2015). The epidemiology of global micronutrient deficiencies. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 66. https://doi.org/10.1159/000371618
Basavaraja, H., Mahajanashetti, S. B., &Udagatti, N. (2007). Economic Analysis of Post-harvest Losses in Food Grains in India: A Case Study of Karnataka. Agricultural Economics Research Review, 20.
Bharti, A., &Goyal, A. (2017). Impact Factor-6.178) A Monthly Double- Blind Peer Reviewed Refereed Open Access International Journal-Included in the. International Serial Directories International Journal in Management and Social Science, 05(02).
Boansi, D., Owusu, V., Tambo, J. A., Donkor, E., & Asante, B. O. (2021). Rainfall shocks and household welfare: Evidence from northern Ghana. Agricultural Systems, 194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103267
Cardoen, D., Joshi, P., Diels, L., Sarma, P. M., & Pant, D. (2015). Agriculture biomass in India: Part 2. Post-harvest losses, cost and environmental impacts. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.06.002
CIPHET. (2018–19). Post-harvest losses in India. Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology.
Debebe, S. (2022). Post-harvest losses of crops and its determinants in Ethiopia: tobit model analysis. Agriculture and Food Security, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-022-00357-6
Dong, Y., Miller, S. A., &Keoleian, G. A. (2022). Estimating the greenhouse gas emissions of cold chain infrastructure in China from 2021 to 2060. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.03.017
Dsouza, A., Mishra, A. K., & Webster, S. (2023). Vertical coordination and postharvest losses: Implications on food loss. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 45(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13210
Engström, R., &Carlsson-Kanyama, A. (2004). Food losses in food service institutions Examples from Sweden. Food Policy, 29(3), 203–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2004.03.004
Gebreegziabher, Z., & Van Kooten, G. C. (2020). Commodity Storage, Post- Harvest Losses, and Food Security: Panel Data Evidence from Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural and Food Industrial Organization, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1515/jafio-2019-0058
Government of India. (2020). Agriculture and Food Management. Economic Survey 2019–20, Ministry of Finance, 2.
Gustavsson, J., Cederberg, C., &Sonesson, U. (2011). Global Food Losses and Food Waste. Save Food at Interpack Düsseldorf, Germany.
Jha, S., Ambrose, K., & Chopra, S. (2006). Physical and mechanical properties of mango during growth and storage for determination of maturity. Journal of Food Engineering, 72, 73–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2004.11.020
Khan, W., Jamshed, M., Fatima, S., &Dhamija, A. (2020). Determinants of Income Diversification of Farm Households’ in Uttar Pradesh, India. Forum for Social Economics, 49(4). https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2019.1666728
Kovalchuk, S., &Mudrak, T. (2021). SELECTION OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF FERMENTATION OF HIGH CONCENTRATION WORT WITH OSMOPHILIC YEAST RACES FOR OBTAINING BIOETHANOL. Food Science and Technology, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.15673/fst.v15i3.2116
Kumar, D., &Kalita, P. (2017). Reducing Postharvest Losses during Storage of Grain Crops to Strengthen Food Security in Developing Countries. Foods, 6, 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods6010008
Kumar, S., Bhatt, B. P., Dey, A., Shivani, Kumar, U., Idris, M., Mishra, J. S., & Kumar, S. (2018). Integrated farming system in India: Current status, scope and future prospects in changing agricultural scenario. In Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (Vol. 88, Issue 11). https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v88i11.84880
Lu, Y., Zhang, H., Fan, D., Chen, Z., & Yang, X. (2022). Coupling solar-driven photothermal effect into photocatalysis for sustainable water treatment. In Journal of Hazardous Materials (Vol. 423). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127128
Medici, M., Canavari, M., &Toselli, M. (2020). Interpreting environmental impacts resulting from fruit cultivation in a business innovation perspective. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239793
Misra, R., & Choudhry, S. (2020). Trade War: Likely Impact on India. Foreign Trade Review, 55(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/0015732519886793
M.Manida, D. (2022). The Future of Food and Agriculture Trends and Challenges. 4, 27–29.
Mohamed, H. H. (2022). Introduction to green processing for sustainable materials. In Sustainable Materials and Green Processing for Energy Conversion. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-822838-8.00004-1
Myers, S., Smith, M., Guth, S., Golden, C., Vaitla, B., Mueller, N., Dangour, A., &Huybers, P. (2017). Climate Change and Global Food Systems: Potential Impacts on Food Security and Undernutrition. Annual Review of Public Health, 38. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurevpublhealth-031816-044356
NABARD. (2018). *Role of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in agriculture and rural development*. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development.
Nag, A. (2022). Industrial infrastructure development of cottage industries for inclusive economic growth in a sustainable manner: case study of the urban growth centre in Bishnupur, West Bengal, India.
International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 26(2). https://doi.org/10.1504/ijicbm.2022.123591
NCCD. (2021). Cold chain infrastructure development in India. National Centre for Cold Chain Development.
NCCD. (2021). *Cold chain infrastructure development in India*. National Centre for Cold Chain Development.
Nordtvedt, T. S., & Widell, K. N. (2020). Refrigeration and sustainability in the seafood cold chain. 6th IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain, ICCC 2020, 2020-August, 13–24. https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.iccc.2020.314814
Nuthalapati, C. S. R., Mahendra Dev, S., & Sharma, R. (2022). Supply-side Problems in Food Loss and Waste Issues in Mitigation through Cold Chain. Economic and Political Weekly, 57(14).
Panda, D., Bhattacharya, P., De, D., & Rana, S. (2022). Bopchain: Bottom of the Pyramid Counterfeit Supply Chain Management Using Lightweight Blockchain. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4263844
Parfitt, J., &Barthel, M. (2010). Global food waste reduction: priorities for a world in transition. Science Review.
Pritchard, B., Rammohan, A., &Sekher, M. (2013). Food security as a lagging component of India’s human development: A function of interacting entitlement failures. South Asia: Journal of South Asia Studies, 36(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2012.739256
Qiao, J., Yu, D., Cao, Q., &Hao, R. (2019).Identifying the relationships and drivers of agro-ecosystem services using a constraint line approach in the agropastoral transitional zone of China. Ecological Indicators, 106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105439
Revenko, L. S. (2022). Africa's food security: Malnutrition and obesity. Asia and Africa Today, 5. https://doi.org/10.31857/s032150750020171-0
Sagana, C., Sangeetha, M., Savitha, S., Devendran, K., Kavin, T., Kavinsri, K., &Mithun, P. (2023). Machine Learning-Based Crop Recommendations for Precision Farming to Maximize Crop Yields. 2023
International Conference on Computer Communication and Informatics, ICCCI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCCI56745.2023.10128525
Saima Khan and Dr Shiv Kumar. (2021). Impact of Banking Sector Reforms on Agriculture and Sources of Agricultural Credit. International Journal for Modern Trends in Science and Technology, 7(01). https://doi.org/10.46501/ijmtst070132
Samant, Y., Lanjewar, H., Parker, L., Block, D., Stein, B., &Tomar, G. (2007). Relationship between vaccine vial monitors and cold chain infrastructure in a rural district of India. Rural and Remote Health, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.22605/rrh730
Saravanan, K., Prabhakar, K., Jadhav, N., Mahalingam, K., Dsouza, J. L., &Mohiyuddin, M. M. (2023). A Novel Internet of Things based Approach for Crop Cultivation and Precision Agronomy. 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Computing and Data Communication Systems, ICSCDS 2023- Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSCDS56580.2023.10104845
Sarpal, D., Sinha, R., Jha, M., & TN, P. (2022). AgriWealth: IoT based farming system. Microprocessors and Microsystems, 89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micpro.2022.104447
Shahmohamadloo, R. S., Febria, C. M., Fraser, E. D. G., & Sibley, P. K. (2021). The sustainable agriculture imperative: A perspective on the need for an agrosystem approach to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.4558
Sibomana, M., SeyoumWorkneh, T., &Audain, K. (2016). A review of postharvest handling and losses in the fresh tomato supply chain: a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Food Security, 8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-016-0562-1
Singh, B., Singh, J., & Kaur, A. (2013). Applications of radioisotopes in agriculture. International Journal of Biotechnology and Bioengineering Research, 4(3).
Smith, L. C., & Haddad, L. (2015). ReducingChild Undernutrition: Past Driversand Priorities for the Post-MDG Era.World Development, 68,180–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.11.014
Tawodzera, G. (2022). Food Security in Epworth, Zimbabwe: Leveraging Rural-urban Linkages for Resilient Food Systems in Peri-urban Areas. Africa Development, 47(3). https://doi.org/10.57054/ad.v47i3.2684
Vejan, P., Khadiran, T., Abdullah, R., Ismail, S., &Dadrasnia, A. (2019). Encapsulation of plant growth promoting Rhizobacteria— prospects and potential in agricultural sector: a review. In Journal of Plant Nutrition (Vol. 42, Issue 19). https://doi.org/10.1080/01904167.2019.1659330
Volanti, M., Arfelli, F., Neri, E., Saliani, A., Passarini, F., Vassura, I., &Cristallo, G. (2022). Environmental Impact of Meals: How Big Is the Carbon Footprint in the School Canteens? Foods, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11020193
Williams, J. (2019). Circular cities: Challenges to implementing looping actions. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11020423
