The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), launched by the Union government to put India’s food processing capabilities on the fast track, will put in place modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm to retail, the government has said.
According to minister of state for food processing industries Ravneet Singh, the scheme will provide a big push to the food processing sector and improve the capacity of food processing units. This will help provide farmers better returns, create employment opportunities, especially in rural areas, reduce the wastage of agricultural produce, increase processing level and enhance the export of processed foods, the minister said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Under the scheme, various infrastructure components such as cold storage and refrigerated vehicles have been supported to minimize post-harvest losses. However, standalone cold storages are not supported under PMKSY.
A total of 642 storages with a capacity of 241 LMT (lakh metric tons) per annum, have been approved for captive use under PMKSY since inception in 2017. Further, under the integrated cold chain & value addition infrastructure sub-scheme, six projects were approved in Telangana in the last five years.
The Food Corporation of India, which reports to the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, has taken steps to upgrade and modernize the storage facilities. The government has approved an action plan for the construction of steel silos on a public-private-partnership) mode, as part of which steel silos with a capacity of 24.25 LMT are being implemented in various locations.
The silos are generally ideal for storing food products or materials that require a clean and secure environment. Stainless steel offers resistance to rust and corrosion, making these silos suitable for various climates.
Silos with a capacity of 17.75 LMT have been completed and the remaining 6.5LMT are under various stages of development. In addition, silos of 5.5LMT capacity have already been constructed and were put to use in 2007-09 in seven locations under the circuit base model.
Further, under phase-I of the hub & spoke model, silos have been awarded at 14 locations of 10.125 LMT capacity on FCI-owned land. Silos at 66 locations of 24.75 LMT capacity on private land have been awarded and are in the development stages.
The ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI) has been implementing PMKSY as a central sector umbrella scheme since 2016-17 to create post-harvest infrastructure and processing facilities to enhance the overall development of the food processing sector, including reducing post-harvest losses, the minister said.
The component schemes under PMKSY provide credit-linked financial assistance (capital subsidy) in the form of grants-in-aid to entrepreneurs for setting up food processing and preservation infrastructure which, inter-alia, includes cold storage facilities and refrigerated vehicles to minimize post-harvest losses.
In 2020, NABARD Consultancy Services conducted and submitted an evaluation study according to which, interventions of the integrated cold chain and value addition infrastructure scheme of the ministry of food processing industries led to some decrease in wastage in all sectors, but the fruits and vegetables, dairy and fisheries segments benefited the most.
The ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare also launched the agriculture infrastructure fund scheme in July 2020 under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package to improve post-harvest infrastructure and create community farming assets. The scheme sanctions medium to long-term loans by banks and other lending institutions to set up cold storage facilities, warehouses and processing units, aimed at reducing crop wastage and enhancing value addition, the minister said in the reply.
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Naresh Khanna – 10 February 2025
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