SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has recorded an estimated post-harvest loss of 9.51 per cent in apples, according to the latest assessment cited by the Centre in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Chirag Paswan said the government has undertaken studies to assess post-harvest losses of cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables across different agro-climatic regions of the country.
Replying to a question by Lok Sabha MP Jai Prakash, Paswan said the Ministry had commissioned studies through the ICAR-Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) in 2015 and NABARD Consultancy Services (NABCONS) in 2022.
The latest NABCONS assessment provides commodity-wise and State-wise estimates based on field surveys conducted in major producing States, but does not assess the impact of post-harvest losses on farmers’ incomes, the minister said.
Data placed before Parliament showed that, besides apples, JK recorded estimated post-harvest losses of 3.92 per cent in maize, 6.08 per cent in eggs and 7.33 per cent in beans.
Paswan said the Centre was implementing measures to reduce such losses through schemes including the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) and the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industries (PLISFPI).
According to the minister, these schemes support cold-chain facilities, food processing and preservation infrastructure, value addition and modern supply chains aimed at reducing post-harvest losses and improving returns to farmers.
