Shri Pawar tells Industry Captains to set up cold chains in rural areas

Union Agriculture Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar today argued strongly in favour of cold chain infrastructure throughout the country, starting with pre-cooling facility in rural areas.

"The economic impact of cold chains will be felt in the villages in more than one way-farmers will get better realization for their produce since the quality and longevity will be higher and pre-cooling in rural areas will create direct and indirect employment leading to overall upliftment of the entire villages which are strong in horticultural production. The long-term impact of this rural upliftment will be felt even in the major cities and towns. The growth of cold chains will set in motion a chain of development that will have a long term impact in various areas and benefit the nation as a whole," Shri Pawar said.

The Minister was speaking at the special session of Cold Chain Summit-2007, organized jointly by Ministries of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries in partnership with CII. Besides representatives of industries, participating Ministries and State governments, farmers also participated in the Summit.

Shri Pawar assured that the Government will act upon Summit recommendations within a definite time frame. While agreeing with the recommendations of the Summit that the National Horticulture Board may be the nodal agency for policy execution relating to development of cold chain infrastructure, the Minister suggested that the National Dairy Development Board and National Fisheries Development Board may also be associated to take responsibilities in their areas. He also mentioned that the Government is investing substantial resources in horticulture, dairy and fishery sectors in view of their immense potential. In its two days’ deliberations, the Summit has come out with a number of recommendations relating to policy formulation, logistics, human resource development, business prospects and so on.

Secretary, Agriculture and Cooperation, Dr. P.K. Mishra, who earlier chaired the policy session of the Summit, said that the cold chain infrastructure being envisaged should utilized the benefits of the terminal markets scheme of the government. The road-map suggested by the Summit should lead to a scenario in which up to 20% of the perishable form produce enters the cold chain. This will not only help farmers and the industry, it will contribute significantly to the economy, he said.

Source : Press Information Bureau

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