BHUBANESWAR: THE new cold storage scheme may have instilled hope in farmers and consumers suffering from post-harvest losses and escalating food prices due to lack of storing facilities, it seems to have few takers in Odisha. Sources said only two proposals to set up cold stores in Jajpur and Puri have been approved under the flagship scheme ‘Financial Assistance to Cold Storage’, which was approved by the state cabinet on January 22.
The state government has made a budget outlay of Rs 252 crore for the scheme to be implemented over a period of five years. As part of the scheme, the government has decided to provide financial assistance for establishment of at least one cold storage in each of the 58 subdivisions of the state. Deputy chief minister KV Singh Deo, who is also the Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment minister, had also announced to consider if more than one proposal came from any of the subdivisions. But only two proposals have been received against the target of 58.
The slow pace, officials admitted, could undermine the scheme’s objective of strengthening post-harvest infrastructure, reducing storage losses and ensuring better price realisation for farmers’ produce. Odisha has been struggling with the problem of inadequate cold stores, leaving farmers vulnerable to post-harvest losses and distress sale. The state currently has 44 functional cold stores and the Agriculture department runs four of them with storage capacity of 4,000 tonne. While the requirement is estimated to be more than three times the existing facilities to meet the growing demand across horticulture, vegetables and perishable commodities, of a total 123 cold stores, 79 are non-functional.
Worried over the sluggish pace, the Agriculture department has directed the districts to intensify awareness drives with dissemination of information on the scheme benefits and eligibility among farmer producer organisations, self-help groups, primary agricultural cooperative societies, agri-entrepreneurs, cooperatives and private investors. Principal secretary of the department Arabinda Kumar Padhee has asked the collectors to give personal attention to implement the cold storage projects and promptly scrutinise proposals received at the district level with hand-holding support to applicants to ensure faster execution.