High rent keeps Punjab farmers off cold storage facilities

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Chandigarh, May 17

Farmers are unable to increase the shelf life of their vegetables, with an eye on selling them when the prices are good, because of the high cost of cold storage, apart from the absence of adequate or appropriate cold storage facilities in the state.

The biggest problem with vegetable cultivation is that they can be stored for only about 20-25 days. These are, largely, not grown in very big quantities. If farmers are not able to sell them, they only end up spending extra on transporting them and paying the rent of the cold store.

Special agri policy on cards

Our government is working on a special policy for agriculture. We are coming out with a plan for creating a chain of cold storage facilities. — Kuldeep Dhaliwal, Agriculture minister

The issue gains importance in the context of a news item recently that farmers were throwing capsicum on roads in Mansa. Farmers in Jalandhar are facing the same problem.

A cold store owner from Bathinda, Baldev Singh Dhillon, said, “Potatoes, which account for more than 75 per cent of the total commodity for cold stores, need 0-4°C. Vegetables need colder conditions. It will mean higher costs for farmers.”

“There is also a difference in the storage period. Vegetables can be stored for 15-20 days only, grapes for two months, potatoes for 10-11 months, apples five months and oranges for two months,” Dhillon said.

The head of the department of vegetable science at Punjab Agricultural University, Dr Tarsem Singh Dhillon, said, “The government needs to create more awareness among farmers about the post-harvest infrastructure and how it could be accessed.”