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A recent study,35 undertaken by the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), a government-run institute, has estimated the value of farm waste in India at Rs. 92,651 crore (at the prices of 2014), that is around 9 per cent of the total produce, which is much lower than the oft-stated 40 per cent level. Although cereals, such as wheat and rice, pulses and oil seeds accounted for around two-thirds of the wastage, the loss in case of fruits and vegetables was the highest at up to 18 per cent of the total produce.
Attending the causes of storage and processing facilities, something the Government of India is emphasising, this level could come down significantly and can serve great purpose in helping the economy to fight the repeated price shocks of the past two years in case of fruits, vegetables and foodgrains to a great extent.
The losses take place in almost all stages of farming, but the study looked at harvesting, collection, grading, cleaning, packaging, transportation and storage. If cultivation was also included the loss figure would be much higher. The government has said that adoption of better technology has brought about a reduction in losses.