20 - Reducing Post-Harvest Losses in Indian

It is important to note that in made in understanding the nature and comparison to global levels, India faces higher quantum of post-harvest food loss through PHL in cereals, pulses, and oilseeds, indicating three extensive pan-India surveys conducted lower levels of farm mechanisation and poor by ICAR-CIPHET in 2012 and 2015, and infrastructure for storage and transportation. [...] India indeed achieved In China, the loss percentage for cereals is at tremendous growth in food grain production 2.22 percent, compared to India’s figure of 4.44 1 Food loss refers to the reduction in both quantity and quality that occurs 2 'Food waste' pertains to the consumption phase, encompassing the in the supply chain, commencing from harvest and extending up to the removal of edible and ine. [...] The primary survey One of the weak features of Indian surveys on collected data of 1200 farmers and 116 PHL is that they capture only the quantity market-level stakeholders, distributed across losses, and not the quality losses that occur in districts of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar the post-harvest stage (in threshing, using a stratified random sampling method4. [...] The extent of marginalisation of land is the highest in Bihar Distance covered during transport of grains for compared to Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, the market is a key variable explaining total contributing to higher loss per hectare in the loss. [...] Amending the outdated provisions of the ECA holds the promise of unlocking the potential for private sector investment in storage infrastructure and warehouses.