Sub-problem
Whether cold storage is used, or reaches farmers, is not monitored
- National
In September 2020 the Ministry of Agriculture reported 8,186 cold storages with 374.25 lakh tonnes of capacity for fruits and vegetables — above the 350 lakh tonnes assessed as required by NABCONS's All India Cold-chain Infrastructure Capacity study of 2015 — but said that information on capacity utilisation, availability and cost is not centrally maintained and that there is no real-time monitoring system. Aggregate capacity says nothing about where it is or which crops and farmers it serves. In August 2024 the Ministry described cold storage creation as demand- and entrepreneur-driven, with no target. Evidence confidence: High that utilisation is not monitored.
This is the most specific entry on this branch of the catalogue. The evidence behind it is below.
Who is responsible
- Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare — Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare · Ministry or Department
- National Horticulture Board · Union GovernmentSubsidises cold storage construction.
- Ministry of Food Processing Industries · Ministry or Department
Evidence and sources
- Cold Storage Facilities in the Country — reply in Rajya Sabha · Official statementMinistry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, 23 September 2020. 8,186 cold storages with 374.25 lakh MT capacity; NABCONS AICIC-2015 requirement of 350 lakh MT; utilisation not centrally maintained and no real-time monitoring.
- Cold Storage Units — reply in Lok Sabha · Official statementMinistry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, 6 August 2024. Cold storage creation is demand and entrepreneur driven, with no target.
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