Post-harvest losses eating into growth

India’s population has surpassed China’s and its demand for food will continue to grow in the coming years.

Globally, India is the second-largest producer of wheat and paddy and the largest producer of pulses. Its agriculture and allied sectors significantly contributed to its overall growth. The sector has been growing at an average annual rate of 4.6 per cent during the last six years. In recent years, India has also emerged as a net exporter of agricultural products. In 2020–21, exports of agriculture and allied products from India grew by 18 per cent over the previous year and reached an all-time high of $50.2 billion.

However, disruptions in the supply chain adversely affected the flow of agricultural goods, leading to high food inflation and a detrimental impact on major agricultural exports. Agriculture production in all categories has increased over the years, but high post-harvest losses in the supply chain have remained a concern for farmers and policymakers.

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An average estimation of post-harvest losses for crops was undertaken to understand and identify various operations contributing to losses and to identify measures and strategies for loss mitigation. The creation of post-harvest infrastructure and its implementation to reduce post-harvest losses require huge investments. The post- harvest losses for crops and commodities and the extent of the loss in physical quantity and monetary value were estimated at the national level. The estimation was based on the production of all crops during 2020–21 (latest available) and the average wholesale price for three years (2019–20, 2020–21, and 2021-22). The wholesale prices of 2019–20 and 2020–21 were brought to the level of 2021–22 by adjusting inflation rates for years 2019–20 and 2020–21.

The agriculture sector contributes 19.9 per cent to the country’s GDP (2020–21). It is estimated to have a monetary loss of Rs 1,52,790.42 crore. The perishable livestock produce, fruits, and vegetables led to higher post-harvest losses, thereby resulting in a high contribution to economic losses. Therefore, perishable commodities require special attention for the creation of better post-harvest technology, policy interventions, and infrastructure. It indicates better post-harvest management and technological advancements are needed to reduce the losses to the maximum extent possible in order to keep up with the pace of changing patterns of production of crops/commodities and climate conditions and meet the increasing demands of a growing population. Both the central and state governments should narrow the gaps
identified in post-harvest management and strategies to reduce the loss.

Good farm-level practices and existing modern machinery available for post-harvest practices may be promoted and made accessible to all farmers. Intervention with favourable policies and the development of infrastructure for processing and storage are needed for the further reduction of post-harvest losses. Introduction of suitable value-added products and appropriate storage of excess production during gluts can help reduce losses and may also give relief from price fluctuation. The cold chain for perishable products and cold storage for cereal, pulses, oilseeds, plantation crops, and spices need to be promoted in a big way. Training and demonstration of modern technologies and good handling practices may be carried out through extension activities to reduce losses.

Thus, it is crucial to realise that for the development of an environmentally sustainable global food system it is important to ensure food and nutrition security, and increase farm income by cost minimisation and yield maximisation. Indian agriculture needs re-orientation to overcome challenges and adverse impacts of climate change, fragmented landholdings, sub-optimal farm mechanisation, low productivity, disguised unemployment, and rising input costs apart from post-harvest losses.

(The writer is a retired officer of the government of Karnataka)