In a small, predominantly tribal village of Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh, Sushma and her husband Anil toil exhausting to domesticate tomatoes within the small parcel of land that they personal. They’re depending on the revenue from rising tomatoes for his or her family bills and repaying the loans they take to bear farming prices. Nevertheless, it isn’t all the time worthwhile to develop tomatoes. Generally, they bear losses resulting from unexpected climate circumstances, pest infestation or poor market costs. Sushma and Anil level out that meals losses are unavoidable in tomatoes — “If we don’t promote the tomatoes in time, the tomatoes will find yourself promoting us out”.
An lack of ability to repay the price of manufacturing can put farmers in extreme debt. Native merchants and retailers share comparable experiences – perishable fruit and vegetable crops could make or break companies. Nevertheless, alternatives exist to handle the challenges confronted by small-scale farmers like Sushma and Anil and cut back meals loss and meals waste throughout the provision chain.
India’s Meals Loss and Meals Waste Problem
India’s agriculture sector has immense potential to enhance incomes, livelihoods and dietary safety whereas additionally lowering the strain on land and assets. Whereas India is a number one producer of meals grains, fruit and veggies worldwide, it nonetheless suffers vital meals loss and meals waste (FLFW). Meals loss consists of each quantitative and qualitative loss. As per the newest estimates by NABCONS 2022, a examine commissioned by the Ministry of Meals Processing Trade, Authorities of India, tomato incurs the second-highest postharvest losses (11.61%) in India, second solely to guava (15%). Nevertheless, these are solely quantitative estimates and don’t embody qualitative losses. Tomatoes are among the many main money crops and require excessive investments in inputs throughout manufacturing. Nevertheless, 82% of Indian tomato farmers have small and marginal landholdings of lower than two hectares. Subsequently, whereas small and marginal farmers play a major function in total manufacturing, additionally they threat excessive financial losses.
To grasp the dimensions of the issue, WRI India adopted a provide chain-based method to trace losses in tomatoes from farm to retail stage, establish hotspots and options, and the function of fresh vitality in three districts – Dhar, Chhindwara, and Jhabua – of Madhya Pradesh. The paper “Tomato path: Monitoring meals loss and meals waste in Madhya Pradesh” recognized that the very best quantitative and qualitative FLFW takes place on the farm and retail stage throughout the meals provide chain.
What’s the affect of Meals Loss and Meals Waste?
The financial worth of postharvest losses was estimated at roughly ₹1,52,790 crore (US$18.5 billion) in 2020–21, of which 37% is from fruit and veggies. The problem of FLFW is complicated for the reason that scale, causes, impacts and options fluctuate for various geographies and crops. For example, any losses in tomatoes affect small and marginal farmers economically and in crop planning for the subsequent season, whereas massive farmers who develop tomatoes yearly get well losses in subsequent years. Moreover, any meals that’s misplaced or wasted additionally results in a major environmental footprint, together with the lack of assets, resembling water, vitality, fertilizers and seeds, that went into its manufacturing, processing, transportation and disposal. From farm to consumption, greenhouse fuel emissions are added at every stage of the provision chain.
As per our evaluation, the very best quantitative tomato FLFW was discovered on the farm stage (15%), immediately impacting the farmers. Farmers within the area primarily develop tomatoes within the Kharif and late-kharif season (October – February harvesting). Farmers largely understand any meals losses in financial phrases. For example, if the price of cultivation is recovered with a small revenue, no matter lack of produce, farmers report no quantitative tomato losses. It subsequently turns into essential for analysis to be supported by direct measurement of meals losses within the discipline by way of strategies resembling weighing or counting. Our evaluation consists of direct measurement of tomato FLFW on the sector utilizing a weighing scale and recording FLFW at a number of factors within the provide chain.
Quantitative FLFW for tomatoes on the retail stage (12%) can be fairly excessive. Nevertheless, most unorganized retailers promote a number of commodities, lowering their threat and dependency on revenue from tomatoes. If there may be any FLFW, the retailers attempt to get well the price from different fruit and veggies by promoting these at a better margin or promoting poor high quality fruit and veggies at a cheaper price. For the reason that demand for tomatoes is year-round in India, any FLFW within the provide chain additionally contributes to provide shortages, resulting in a rise in the price of tomatoes for shoppers.
How Can Meals Loss and Meals Waste be Decreased?
On the macro stage, a Target-Measure-Act approach is essential for guiding FLFW discount by nationwide and subnational governments. This encourages the federal government to set targets for FLFW discount, measure and monitor progress over time, and establish particular interventions to realize these targets. Moreover, it is going to additionally assist reporting on the present Sustainable Development Goal target 12.3.
Decreasing FLFW requires options tailor-made to native circumstances and goal stakeholders. Moreover, nobody intervention can resolve FLFW within the tomato provide chain, it requires collaboration and assist from numerous provide chain stakeholders. Consciousness in regards to the scale and causes of FLFW is required, together with details about its affect on revenue, setting and vitamin. Subsequent, there’s a must construct capability to leverage alternatives and implement options for lowering FLFW. Our evaluation recommends prioritizing motion on the farm and retail stage by participating small and marginal farmers and unorganized retailers. Collectivization of farmers and retailers in farmer producer teams and retailer unions is essential for reaching economies of scale. Together with consciousness, we have to enhance entry to applied sciences which have low operational prices and are setting pleasant. Among the applied sciences recognized embody evaporative cooling chambers, solar sheds and photo voltaic dryers on the farm stage. If supported with the proper financing, it could enhance incomes and cut back greenhouse fuel emissions.
In the course of the dialogue with Sushma and Anil in regards to the extent of tomato losses on their farm, they expressed a robust curiosity in studying the best way to cut back meals losses not solely in tomatoes but in addition in onions, which they plan to develop within the upcoming season. Their intent to attenuate losses is obvious, however small-scale farmers like them want options which can be reasonably priced, sustainable and accessible on the final mile.
Learn our working paper, Tomato Path: Monitoring Meals Loss and Meals Waste in Madhya Pradesh to know extra.
Quantitative FLFW : When any produce that for human consumption is discarded or faraway from the meals provide chain for functions aside from human consumption.
Qualitative FLFW : The lower in dietary worth, look, scent, meals security requirements and different attributes that reduces its worth by way of meant use.
