Cold

storage solutions
for the marginal and
small farmers in India

Appraisal of current solutions

and government policies for
the betterment of the farmers

Existing solutions

EC room (CIPHET)

EC structure (CIPHET)

Coolify

ecofrost (ecoZen)

EC room

Capacity: 2 tonnes of produce

Initial investment: 75,000

Climate tested for: Tested in Punjab (Composite)

Design principle: Evaporative cooling

Pros: Affordable

Areas for improvement: Compressed earth block

masonry for walls, Filler roof slab

EC structure

Capacity: 5-7 tonnes of produce

Initial investment: 2 to 4 lakhs

Climate tested for: Tested in Punjab (Composite)

Design principle: Wetted pad as cooling medium

Pros: Negligible maintenance cost

Areas for improvement: Compressed earth block

masonry for walls

Coolify

Capacity: No data available

Initial investment: Pay-per-use

Climate tested for: Tested in East Africa

Design principle: VIPs for insulation

Pros: No initial investment

Areas for improvement: Cost effective alternatives to

expensive VIPs ($ 8500)

ecofrost (ecoZen)

Capacity: 5 tonnes of produce

Initial investment: 3 to 4 lakhs

Climate tested for: Tested in Maharashtra & Karnataka

Design principle: Solar power for cooling

Pros: Off-grid

Areas for improvement: Better solar panels, good

insulation

Government policies

DD Kisan tv channel

Soil Health Card Scheme

mKisan portal & Kisan Call Centres

100% FDI in trading of food products

e-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana (PMFBY)

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)

DD Kisan tv channel

DD Kisan will cover global benchmarks in farming

techniques, farmer suicides, unseasonal rains and ways
to boost farm income.

DD Kisan is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture,

the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the Ministry
of Earth Sciences and IMD.

It offers daily mandi (wholesale market) updates, district

and crop-specific weather forecasts and a show focused
on the foods of rural India.

Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme

Target: 14crore cards to be distributed by 2017

Current status:

1.12 crore cards were distributed by February 2016

2 crore cards to be distributed before March 2016

Benefit to farmers: Soil Health Cards carry crop-wise

recommendations of nutrients and fertilisers required for
the individual farms for helping farmers to improve
productivity through judicious use of inputs

mKisan portal

mKisan is offering region-specific and crop-specific information

to farmers on their mobile phones, through unstructured
supplementary service data (USSD), which can be accessed
through any GSM handset.

Farmers can access information about input dealers, farm

machinery along with its prices, where all extension-related
activities are being run in their area and list of beneficiaries.
Similarly, persons from APMCs/mandis, fertiliser and other
dealers would be able to enter price and sales/stock details even
from the areas where internet availability is still not available.

Kisan Call Centres (KCCs)

Kisan Call Centres are working in 14 different locations

covering all the states and UTs. A countrywide common
eleven digit Toll Free number 1800-180-1551 has been
allotted for Kisan Call Centre. This number is accessible
through mobile phones and landlines of all telecom
networks including private service providers. Replies to
the farmers' queries are given in 22 local languages. Call
centre services are available from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm
on all seven days of the week, at each KCC location.

100% FDI in trading of food products

The Union Ministry of Food Processing has listed Maharashtra,

Punjab, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh among the states with
potential to derive maximum benefits from policy reforms in food
processing. Maharashtra leads in horticulture produce in the
country, with 40% produce.

According to NABARD status report for the year 2015-16: The

food processing units would help Maharashtra to process 40%
vegetables and 30% fruits, which are wasted due to lack of
infrastructure. The inadequate food processing sector also is a
primary reason for poor remunerations farmers get. They cannot
bargain in absence of robust market linkages.

e-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)

Pan-India electronic trading portal connecting all the

existing APMC mandis to create a unified national
market for agricultural commodities

Current status: 21 mandis in 8 states connected

Target: 585 mandis to be connected by March 2018

Benefit to farmers: access to buyers across India

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana

Farmers will have to pay much lower premiums and will

get full sum insured

Multiple localised risks and post harvest losses are taken

into account

Use of simple and smart technology through phones and

remote sensing for quick estimation and early settlement of
claims

Learnings and good points from previous schemes are

included in the scheme

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP)

Faster completion of ongoing Major and Medium

Irrigation including National Projects. Creation of new
water sources through Minor Irrigation (both surface
and ground water). Repair, restoration and renovation of
water bodies. Strengthening carrying capacity of
traditional water sources. Construction of rain water
harvesting structures. Command area development.
Strengthening and creation of distribution network from
source to the farm

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

PMKSY (Har Khet ko Pani)

PMKSY (Watershed)

Diversion of water from areas where it is plenty to nearby

water scarce areas

Check dams, nala bund, farm ponds, tanks etc

PMKSY (Per drop more crop)

Secondary storage structures at tail end of canal system to

store water when available in abundance (rainy season)

Pilot projects

Plant clinics

Sowing app

Water4Crops

Plant clinics

The M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF)

along with an international organisation called CABI
jointly piloted a project called plant clinic (PC) in Tamil
Nadu, Puducherry and Maharashtra through the institutes
Village Resource Centres located in the regions.

The main aim of setting up such clinics is to diagnose pests

and diseases in any crop and render accurate knowledge to
the farming community. Basically it is a community-driven
model, conducted in a common location, accessible to all
categories of farmers in a village.

Sowing app

A new sowing app for farmers combined with a personalised

village advisory dashboard for Andhra Pradesh has been
developed by Microsoft India in collaboration with International
Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

ICRISAT has adopted Microsoft Cortana Intelligence Suite

including Machine Learning and Power BI, to empower farmers
and government officials with technology, and promote digital
farming practices in the state. The app advises farmers on best
time to sow crops depending on weather conditions, soil and
other indicators.

Water4Crops

Water4Crops' - a joint project undertaken by the EU and

India - offers 'Constructed Wetland', a technology to reuse
the wastewater in rural areas for irrigation which would
also increase the productivity and quality of crops as
compared to freshwater.

This technology reduces pollutants in wastewater, makes

it fit for irrigation and results have shown increase in yield
of up to 40%. The project integrates bio-treated wastewater
reuse to support the Green Economy in EU and India.