India Wastes Enough Food to Feed Bihar for a Year, Says Govt Study

India wastes 67 million tonnes of food every year – a number higher than the national food output of Britain.

Though the country is growing more food, it is also wasting it in gigantic proportions. (Photo: Reuters)

India’s food wastage is alarming. Though the country is growing more food, it is also wasting it in gigantic proportions according to a government study that covered 120 districts in 14 agricultural zones.

The wastage stands at approximately 67 million tonnes every year – a number higher than the national food output of countries like Britain. This amount is enough to feed the entire population of Bihar for a full year.

2.2 million tonnes of tomatoes vanish on their way to the market from the farms. (Photo: Reuters)

The statistics paint a gloomy picture – the value of food lost amounts to Rs 92,000 crore, nearly two-thirds of what the government spends under the National Food Security Programme to feed 600 million poor Indians with subsidised rations.

Amit Vyas, an economist with the GB Pant Institute, said that this could hurt the economy by reducing farmers’ return on investments as lower supplies raise inflation.

Shocking Findings

The study by Ciphet concluded that fruits, vegetables and pulses are the commodities that see the most wastage. These are prone to rotting. Other reasons include a lack of proper storage facilities, weather conditions, pests, and gluts.

The study was a follow up on a finding two years ago, which revealed huge quantities of food being wasted in the supply chain.

Individual crops are the worst hit. About one million tonnes of onions never reach the markets as they vanish on their way from farms to markets, just like 2.2 million tonnes of tomatoes. More than 5 million eggs crack or rot due to unavailability of cold storage facilities.

A worker sifts through piles of onions in Lasalgaon, Maharashta. (Photo: Reuters)

The results raise questions about the faulty policies that focus on increasing output with little investment in technology to preserve food. The existing technology is, in most cases, under-utilised.

What Should be Done?

Strong measures need to be taken to put a stop to this massive food wastage. Some of these include:

• Setting up on-farm training mechanisms.
  
• Investing in cold storages.
  
• Facilitating smooth transfer of produce from farm to the market.
  
• Standardising food sorting processes.
  

(Source: Hindustan Times)