Initiatives undertaken by the Government have reduced damages to and loss of food grains in India from 2.5 per cent to just 0.006 per cent of total production during the past five years, Prof K V Thomas, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said on Wednesday.
Damages and losses now account for less than one lakh tonnes of the total food grain production of 8.20 crore tons, he said at an ASSOCHAM event in New Delhi, the industry body said here. He was inaugurating the “Fourth Global Summit on the Second Green Revolution”.
Prof Thomas added that this reduction in wastage is a major achievement for the Food Corporation of India. one of the largest storing agencies in the country. He added that the development of a strong food processing industry together with infrastructure for storage, transportation and processing of agro-produce is essential to minimise wastage.
The Government is providing assistance to food processing industries under various schemes, supporting R&D activities and working towards human resource development to meet the growing demand for skilled manpower and promoting entrepreneurship.
Dr. U. Venkateswarlu, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Food Processing, stressed the need to enhance productivity in dry-land farming areas in the Second Green Revolution. Area under dry-land agriculture in India is over 50 per cent of the total cultivable area in the country.