BENGALURU: Technology developers have devised a way that brings an air-conditioned fruit and vegetable market to the doorsteps of people.They have designed and patented what they call the first of its kind hybrid model of mobile market, which runs on solar power. With a refrigeration backup, it brings shopping experience to the doorstep of people.Rinac India Ltd director P Sukumaran said he had been developing the idea for the past three years to reduce the farm produce wastage during transport on the lines of the Prime Minster’s plans to double farm income.
“It targets two aspects - direct supply from the farm to the consumer and employment”, he said.
He has developed mobile markets of sizes 22-foot (2 tonne capacity, costing Rs 22 lakh per truck) and 17-foot (1.2 tonne capacity, costing Rs 20 lakh per truck). Through a slide door that retains the coolness inside, people can enter the truck from the back and pick from rows of fresh vegetables stocked in the vehicle.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa visited a 22-foot mobile market developed on an Eicher truck at the launch of FKCCI’s Agro Good Tech Expo on Monday.A refrigeration backup in the truck keeps the produce cool for at least eight hours even without solar power. When solar power fails, the truck can be charged for eight hours to get a 10-hour backup.
Rinac senior vice-president Soji Abraham said the operational cost of the new system is 4 paise per kg with solar power, while a regular refrigeration costs R 3 per kg. Hence the average prices of fruits and vegetable can come down by 25 per cent, he said.The team is looking up to the government to subsidise the farm-to-home model to help youths seeking employment and farmer groups, Sukumaran said.
When the stock runs out, Sukumaran said, small refrigerator trucks will refill the stocks.The idea is to get cleaned vegetables from farmer groups and bring them directly to the consumers’ doorsteps without the involvement of middlemen, he said. Sensors in the truck also keep the track of humidity levels and activate humidifiers to maintain the right levels and this has a great impact on shelf life of the perishables, he said.
40% produce gets wasted before reaching consumers: CM
While farming is a means of livelihood for several in the state, it is alarming that 40 percent of the farm produce gets wasted before they even reach the consumers, said Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday. He was speaking at the inaugural of FKCCI Agro Food Tech Expo which will be hosted by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry, at Palace Grounds from April 22 to 26.
With technologists attending from India and abroad, the conference will focus on per drop more crop, farm mechanisation, Tomato Onion Potato strategy , cold chain and logistics, food packing, biotechnology and nanotechnology, and ITC/ IOT, AI/ blockchain, and robotics in agriculture. Yediyurappa called for concerted efforts in improving farm produce, accumulation of produce and the use of it. Throughout India, an estimated Rs 50,000-crore worth farm produce is getting destroyed, he added. As an ongoing effort, he said he will personally visit a taluk in each district to create awareness about organic farming among farmers in Karnataka.