Cold chain infrastructure for fruit and vegetable crops in India: Challenges and prospects

Abstract

India ranks second among the world's largest fruit and vegetable producers. However, weak cold chains face major damage caused by the crop, which is a major challenge. Inadequacy in handling, storage and transportation contributes to both economic losses and the fall in farmer income, which is a serious threat to national food security. Cold chains encompass pre-cooling, packhouses, cold storage facilities, refrigerated transportation, and ripening chambers, all of which play a crucial role in reducing temperature and maintaining product quality. The importance of this infrastructure cannot be exaggerated for exposure to uninterrupted farm-to-connection. This review highlights the potential benefits of an effective cold chain that helps to reduce food wastage and increase farmers’ price consciousness. Many challenges still exist, including limited access to small farmers, lack of awareness, and lack of energy. This review strongly advocates supporting an integrated cold chain network through collective cold chain systems, renewable energy integration and capacity building models, as these are the major requirements for the sustainable development of the Indian economy and the protection of its early destroyed food supply.