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Post-Harvest Loss Initiative
In line with Sustainable Development Goals 2, 8, and 12, IGCC SustainMarkets launched the ‘Fasal ki Raksha, Bhavishya ki Suraksha’ Initiative against Post-Harvest Loss.
In 2022, IGCC SustainMarkets launched dedicated initiative against the issue of Post-Harvest Loss in the field of agriculture. The Initiative aimed to target the issue in India using innovation, digitisation, and multi-stakeholder engagement, with a focus on 4 crops – tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and apples. The project, titled “Fasal Ki Raksha, Bhavishya Ki Suraksha” was funded and commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and carried out on behalf of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, through their global project Agricultural Policy and Innovation Fund. The Initiative was supported by the Green Innovation Centre with ICAR-Central Institute of Post-Harvest Loss (CIPHET) as a knowledge partner.
Post-Harvest Loss
Post-Harvest Loss refers to the qualitative and quantitative loss that occurs in crops after harvest, often resulting in monetary losses for farmers as well as food wastage.
Start-Up Partnerships
In line with our objective, we partnered with 16 Indian start-ups that offer innovative products to combat the issue, ranging from affordable technologies that extend crop shelf-life, to ones that link farmers to the market more quickly. These solutions help reduce the vulnerability of crops to damage and spoilage, therefore increasing crop quality, leading to better prices for farmers and preventing distress-selling.
AgriIndia.Net
The Initiative also included the creation of AgriIndia.Net – India’s first community-run digital platform dedicated to solving post-harvest loss. The platform acts as a one-stop solution to share and access resources, experiences, and best practices on the topic.
Pavilion set-up
Under the project, we set up the ‘Indo-German Innovation Pavilion on Post-Harvest Management’ at CII Agro Tech 2022, India’s largest Agri & Food Technology Trade Fair, to bring attention to the problem of Post-Harvest Loss and highlight its solutions. The pavilion was inaugurated by Jagdeep Dhankhar, honourable Vice President of India. Over four days, our start-up partners were able to showcase their products and connect with local farmers, farmers associations, and state-level government representatives from agriculture departments.
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Over 4 days, an estimated 4000+ visitors to the pavilion were made aware of Post-Harvest Loss and presented solutions. In addition, 4 side sessions were conducted to facilitate discussions on agriculture topics with approximately 1200 total physical & virtual attendees.
Gallery
Testimonials
Hemendra Mathur
Post-harvest losses in India is a huge issue. In the whole supply chain we waste nearly one-third of our production, which is criminal in a country where we have to feed over one billion people. We need solutions and innovations to reduce post-harvest losses, that come from start-ups that work in this sector. I’m so happy that the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce has taken this initiative, to bring start-ups to the forefront, making them go to market, connect with farmers, FPOs, and a lot of customers. I sincerely believe this initiative will go a long way in promoting these innovations in times to come.
