From Farm to Fork: How India is Rewriting the Rules of Post-Harvest Management

Abstract

Post-harvest losses remain a major constraint in India’s horticultural sector, reducing farmer income, weakening food security and increasing inefficiencies across agricultural supply chains. This article examines the changing landscape of post-harvest management in India, with particular emphasis on cold-chain expansion, decentralized storage, digital technologies, improved handling practices, institutional support and value addition. Persistent losses are attributed to rough harvesting and handling, inadequate pre-cooling, poor packaging, insufficient refrigerated transport, fragmented marketing channels and limited access to scientific storage facilities. Recent interventions, including integrated cold-chain projects, pack houses, refrigerated logistics, controlled-atmosphere storage and government-supported infrastructure financing, are strengthening preservation and distribution systems. At the same time, low-cost technologies such as zero-energy cool chambers, evaporative storage structures, solar-powered cooling and small-scale dryers are improving accessibility for small and marginal farmers. Emerging digital tools, including machine learning-based quality assessment, freshness monitoring and smart packaging, offer additional opportunities for early spoilage detection and better marketing decisions. The article also highlights the importance of crop-specific handling, particularly for highly perishable commodities such as flowers and leafy vegetables, along with the role of training, incubation centres and formalized food-processing initiatives. Value addition through pulping, drying, pickling, dehydration and ready-to-cook processing can further reduce waste and generate supplementary income. Achieving India’s long-term objective of reducing horticultural post-harvest losses to below 5% will require coordinated investment in infrastructure, affordable technologies, skilled human resources, digital systems and localized processing networks.