Haryana, University of Birmingham sign agreement

NEW DELHI: The Haryana government has signed an agreement with the University of Birmingham for the establishment of a centre of excellence for crop post-harvest management and sustainable cold chain in the state. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Haryana Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister, J P Dalal, Additional Chief Secretary, Dr. Sumita Misra, at Birmingham (UK) on Thursday, an official statement said here.

Agriculture Minister, Sumita Misra and Director General, Horticulture, Arjun Singh Saini are in Birmingham to attend the Cold Chain Summit on September 29 and 30. They will also visit various institutes which are involved in the establishment of this Centre of Excellence. Dalal said that this Centre of Excellence will be a milestone for the reduction in post-harvest losses, updating the knowledge of stakeholders including farmers, use of eco-friendly and farmer-friendly technologies in supply chain and research and development as well.

Resultantly there will be a big boost for diversification towards horticulture in the State, he said. Dalal addressed the participants in the Cold Chain Summit on Thursday and stated that horticulture in Haryana at present has around 7 per cent of the total gross cropped area in the State. To encourage diversification into horticulture and increase the income of the farmers, several new programmes and initiatives have been taken up by the Haryana Government. He emphasized reducing the post-harvest losses which are around 7 per cent to 18 per cent, he said. He informed that 393 horticulture clusters have been formed, 13 integrated pack houses have been established, 50 another are under establishment and in the next five years 500 more integrated pack houses shall be established.

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Dalal said that Haryana will be the most advanced state in the organized supply chain of fresh fruits and vegetables and linking farmers directly with the market and so far 59 MoU with the agri-sector companies have been executed by the Farmers Producers Organization. Sumita Misra stated that support to the small and marginal farmers is essential for reduced wastage at the farm gate level, improving the financial capacity of small and marginal farmers on access to finance for purchasing equipment and supporting post-harvest product storage though the creation of on-farm integrated pack houses. She focused on developing an ecosystem to promote clean green energy, and cold chain systems to prevent food loss between harvests to retail.