The Indian Chamber of Commerce organised a day-long workshop on the development of cold chains in Meghalaya for the first time.
ICC regional director Ishantor Sobhapandit, in the welcome address, stressed on the importance of cold storage infrastructure to prevent wastage of fruits and vegetables once harvested.
He said that Meghalaya’s comparative advantages in producing fruits, vegetables and other horticulture products can be tapped by setting up small-scale food processing units backed up by a cold chain system.
The state produces a large amount of spices, such as ginger, turmeric, fruits like pineapple and vegetables which can be processed and marketed locally. A strong cold chain system is of utmost necessity to market them properly to the end consumer, he added.
Prabhudatta Sahoo, NABARD general manager, informed the house about the numerous funding schemes available through the bank. He also said that NABARD has very recently financed a ‘Zero Energy Cold Storage’ of 5 tonnes capacity and is trying the option of viability gap funding.
ES Brisohbar, regional manager of the Central Warehousing Corporation, said that her organisation is deeply committed towards development of cold storage facilities. She informed that acquiring the required land is the biggest hurdle in setting up a big cold storage unit. However, despite all the challenges, the Central Warehousing Corporation has recently started a large cold storage facility in Umiam.
Maqbool Lyngdoh Suiam, Officer on Special Duty from the Directorate of Food Processing, said that horticulture is the main forte of agriculture in Meghalaya. He said that after many long years of hard work the state government is opening 17 cold storage units for ginger with a capacity of 20 tonnes each.
The government is also opening 16 other cold storages for farmers. He said that, although the state has around 3,000 food processing units, most of them are very small in nature and do not have the required paperwork, like FSSAI licences.
Peeyush Ranjan Swain, assistant general manager of the State Bank of India, said that his bank is always ready to give finance for cold storages. Swain also said that SBI gives collateral-free loans upto Rs 2 crore with the government being the guarantor.
