Centre to reduce gaps in cold chain infrastructure: Pawar

NEW DELHI: The government has decided to set up a centre to address the issue relating to gaps in cold chain infrastructure, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said today.

"Government has taken a decision to set up the National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) to address the issue relating to the gaps in cold chain infrastructure in the country," Pawar said addressing a function to launch the 'Year of Horticulture'.
While the government would be infusing funds to the tune of Rs 25 crore, much of the investments will have to come from the industry, he added.

The NCCD will strive to develop standards and protocols to cold chain besides organising training programmes for the stakeholders of the cold chain industry, the minister said.

Pawar said the ministry has set an ambitious target of 15 million tonnes of additional cold storage capacity during the 12th Five-Year plan against 8.75 million tonnes during the 11th Five-Year plan.

The minister announced the formal launch of the 'Year of Horticulture' to provide special impetus to horticulture development during the year.

He said that the country has achieved an all-time record production of over 240 million tonnes of horticulture produce from about 22 million hectares of land.

"The increased production has resulted in higher per capita availability of fruits and vegetables besides substantial increase in the exports which has helped the country earn foreign exchange to the tune of Rs 14,000 crore," Pawar said.

Speaking on the occasion, Agriculture Secretary P K Basu said the state governments need to ensure the availability of quality planting material and seeds to the farmers.

Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Sikkim and Mizoram were awarded on the occasion for good performance in the horticultural sector.