Post-harvest management – a strategy for climate resilient agriculture

Abstract

Agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries depend largely on the climate of the region. Global warming, changes in rain patterns, droughts, floods, cyclones, storms, etc., have become a challenge for the food production systems. Various strategies being explored to counter negative impact of climate change on agriculture and allied activities. Promising crop genotypes and livestock breeds tolerant to climatic stress are looked into through strategic research. Also it is important to develop infrastructure and train the manpower to reduce post-harvest losses. Post-harvest losses among selected fruits and vegetables were observed to be in the range of 6.70 - 15.88% during the year 2014. Post-harvest losses among cereals, pulses and oilseeds were also observed to be in the range of 3.08 – 9.96%. Post-harvest management of agricultural produce and setting-up of custom hiring centres in rural areas have the potential to reduce post-harvest losses, create rural employment opportunities, enhance farmers income and counter the negative impact of climate change. This paper describes the post-harvest losses of selected commodities along the value chain in India and the strategies to reduce post-harvest losses.