Coming up of a centre for post-harvest processing at Naharlagun will no doubt be a welcoming news for the farming community of the state. Through intervention of technology, which the state’s farmers need badly, it will now be easier for them to take care of their produces  professionally since this facility will impart training to improve the related knowledge and skills and thereby ensuring them a more competitive presence in market. But the most vital gain will be inputs of technology which will take care of post-harvest losses that arise due to lack of adequate preservation facilities, a problem which plagues not only Arunachal farmers, but also entire country as well.

Contributing to approximately 16 % of the GDP which is nothing  substantial in terms of economic parameters, agriculture nevertheless continues remaining  the primary sector of the economy with nearly 43 % of population depending on it, directly or indirectly. It has come a long way since the days of food insecurity to becoming a food surplus nation, with significant progress in areas of production, employment generation and diversification. But despite all these, the current problems are manifold which ranges from crop failures, non-remunerative prices and poor returns on yield, to name a few, all leading to severe  agrarian distress. Along with these which are generally regarded  as front ranking woes of Indian farmers, it is also now increasingly felt that post-harvest loss is a major bane, and if addressed adequately, can go a long way in adding strength to the overall  agriculture scenario. Figures will be enough to suggest why it is an emerging menace particularly at a time when there are increasing efforts of boosting farming productivity. It is in the tune of Rs 93,000 crore annually on an average over the past few years and about 16 per cent of fruits and vegetables valued at Rs 43,000 crore were lost in 2015 alone. This is a great economic loss and goes against the ethos of a $5 trillion economy dream.

Arunachal farmers have been producing high grade spice crops, fruits and vegetables with organic means for long which can very well capture Indian and overseas market with minimal efforts on strength of their qualities alone. But lack of preservation and post-harvest processing facilities are great hurdles that have not only caused discouragement for state’s farmers but also proving detrimental to the flourish of food processing industries too.

Currently there are only a handful of such facilities in state and to cater to the needs of maximum percentage of the farming community, more of such are urgent requirements. It will be a judicious investment which the state must go ahead with for the sake of long term benefits of its farmers. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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