Ramnath Thakur Stresses Need for Enhanced Storage Infrastructure to Curb Post-Harvest Losses
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare successfully conducted a Stakeholder Consultation on Horticulture Clusters and Value Chain Development with a Focus on Vegetable Clusters today at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi. The event brought together a diverse range of stakeholders, including farmer groups, government agencies, ministries, start-ups and private sector players, to deliberate on the future of agriculture in India.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shri Ramnath Thakur stressed the importance of supporting smallholder farmers through FPOs and the creation of clusters that provide essential infrastructure and market access, ensuring long-term sustainability and grassroots impact. He highlighted the need to increase storage infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses and reduce price fluctuations during various seasons. Different parts of the country face a price difference for the same produce, which is a major issue the sector is facing. He concluded by emphasizing that the sector’s focus should be ‘No child without access to fruits and vegetables’, to counter the nation-wide problem of malnutrition among children. He urged all the attending stakeholders to keep the farmers at the centre of all their discussions and suggest solutions to maximize their profits.
Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shri Devesh Chaturvedi emphasized the holistic approach of the Cluster Development Programme (CDP). He focused on the need for an incentive-based policy for post-harvest management to ensure stakeholder players get involved in the value chain development. He highlighted that CDP is not just about boosting horticulture productivity but integrating the entire value chain—from pre-production to marketing—ensuring global competitiveness and scalability across regions. He emphasized that producers must be linked to the urban markets and should be kept at the centre of all the development in the sector. In all the progress that has happened till now, food processing push of the ministry has played a major role and the state governments must provide support for further growth.
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shri Samuel Praveen Kumar gave an introduction about clusterization and its need to improve production, access of consumers to produce, and strengthening farmers and their incomes. He enumerated the three-pronged focus on proper Package of Practices to optimize production, set up infrastructure to develop value chains, and work on a network of logistics for domestic and international demand. He highlighted the current limited capacity of infrastructure for value addition, transportation, and storage of produce.
Following the opening session, the consultation featured thematic sessions that focused on key aspects of horticulture clusters and value chain development. The first session, “Strategic Cluster Development and Production Optimization,” discussed the selection of cluster locations based on soil quality, climate, and market proximity, and explored the role of FPOs, cooperatives, and agri-tech startups. Speakers like Padma Shri Bharat Bhushan Tyagi and representatives from ITC and Sahyadri Farms highlighted the importance of capacity building and advanced production techniques. The emphasized the need for supporting community institutions like FPO sat the block level and link them to backward and forward linkages like hi-tech nurseries, advanced knowledge systems and market ecosystems to be able to make informed decisions. There was discussion on building trust of farmers as one of the cornerstones of building sustainable clusters.
The second session, “Infrastructure and Investments for Strengthening Value Chain,” addressed the need for essential infrastructure, with discussions on Public-Private Community Partnerships (PPCPs) and modern cultivation methods by organisations such as Vaam Agro Farmer Producer Company Ltd., Mondelez, NutriFresh, and DeHaat. There was discussion on need for a hub-and-spoke model of post-harvest infrastructure to reduce crop losses along the entire value chain, from the farm to the market. Developing storage, polyhouses and primary processing infrastructure were the focal points of the discussion to cater to the immediate need of reducing post-harvest losses and seasonal price fluctuations of vegetables.
The final session, “Market Access and Price Volatility in Agricultural Markets,” explored connecting clusters to markets and managing price volatility, with inputs from PepsiCo, Cremica, Ninjacart, and Anibhav Farmers’ Club focusing on contract farming, knowledge access for farmers, and e-marketplaces to support smallholder farmers. Formation of a dedicated freight corridor to manage produce distribution across the country to stabilize prices. Basing clusters on their objectives, like organic clusters, processing clusters, fresh produce clusters, etc., will help ensure proper seed and input selection, along with the markets that need to be targeted.
The sessions culminated in a holistic discussion where all panellists shared views on how to explore the overarching theme of horticulture clusters and the way forward. The discussions underscored the need for integrated approaches that combine infrastructure development, technological adoption, and market linkages to unlock the full potential of the horticulture sector. Continuous capacity building for farmers and regular stakeholder consultations were highlighted as essential for ensuring that policies and schemes are inclusive and effective.
In the concluding session, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries Smt. Anita Praveen mentioned the Expression of Interest (EoI) recently released for 50 irradiation units, which will contribute to the topics discussed in the consultation as they’ll be instrumental in increasing shelf-life of fresh produce.
The session was summarised by Additional Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries Shri Minhaj Alam, who highlighted the need for public-private partnerships and the adoption of modern technologies to support the growth of horticulture clusters. He reiterated that multi-stakeholder collaboration is crucial for driving the successful development of horticulture clusters across the country.
Speaking on way forward for horticulture clusters, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Smt Maninder Kaur Dwivedi highlighted that while India has attained top position in production, now we need to be at the top in processing in horticulture. Infrastructure development should follow where production is taking place to take that cluster to the next level. Developing strategies that focus on stability and perishability of fresh produce will be at the heart of value chain development for horticulture.
The Stakeholder Consultation provided a comprehensive platform for meaningful discussions on the future of agriculture in India. The emphasis on horticulture clusters and value chain development reflects the government’s commitment to transforming the agricultural landscape, ensuring that India not only sustains its leadership in global horticulture production but also enhances the welfare of its farmers and the broader rural economy. As reiterated by the key speakers, the development of horticulture clusters is indeed the way forward for sustainable growth in the sector.
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare remains dedicated to fostering such stakeholder consultations regularly to develop policies and schemes that positively impact all stakeholders in the agriculture and horticulture sectors.