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Public -- private partnership needed for the development of cold chain
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Tuesday, 15 December, 2009, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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“The government is committed to reforms in agriculture, which will facilitate large-scale private investment in every stage of value chain, “ reassured K V Thomas, minister of state for agriculture, GOI at the inauguration of the Cold Chain Summit 2009, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Food Processing.
Emphasising on the necessity of a strong public-private partnership, Thomas urged both the industry and the state to play a pivotal role in the agriculture sector.
Bringing in the private sector, both as a competitor and as complementary to the public sector, adds greater strength and value for money.
The two must work together to benefit both the farmers and the consumers. He said that the government had adopted a two - pronged strategy to implement relevant reforms in agriculture marketing, grading and standardisation at the earliest to attract public and private investments in agriculture.
T Nanda Kumar, secretary, agriculture, highlighted the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV), which will offer multi-modal logistic solution for movement of perishable commodities across the country and revision of subsidy norms.
He said that the National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) suggested by the Task Force on Cold Chain is an excellent idea, which the government supports in principle. Showing his concern for this sector, he said that in spite of the 100% depreciation announced for cold chain investments in the budget of 2009, there were no visible results. Urging the industry to come forward in a big way he added that “we need to invest more in horticulture production to ensure 4% growth in agriculture.” He suggested that there is a strong need for trust building between industry and farmers, so that they can work in partnership with minimal government interference. He also said that primary focus of the government was to ensure better income to farmers, more and diverse food and affordable prices to the consumers.
Rakesh Bharti Mittal, chairman, CII national council on agriculture, in his address spoke about the organised retailing which can be one of the main links in the cold chain. He added that backward integration of retailers through contract farming and direct marketing has also led to increased demand for more organised supply chain for perishables with a focus on quality through climate controlled transportation and storage. He said that sustained effort of the private sector with the assistance of the government at developing a thriving agribusiness in the country will eventually lead to the opening up of a completely new frontier of economic development
Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, CII, said that the Cold Chain Summit outlined the catalytic measures for the growth of integrated cold chain infrastructure by organising the first summit and created a platform for all stakeholders to come together to discuss different models of fruits & vegetable businesses in the country, analysed the need gaps and financial viability of cold chains in the Indian context.
CII, on behalf of the industry, commenced the consultative process of facilitating development of integrated cold chain infrastructure jointly with the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation, Ministry of Agriculture, in March 2007 by organising the first Cold Chain Summit in India. Based on the recommendation of the first Cold Chain Summit in 2007 a Cold Chain Task Force was constituted for developing a roadmap for cold chain infrastructure in this country. There has been significant progress with respect to the technical standards, EFC document, creation of National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) and initiation of a pilot project.
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