Cold storage warehouses will be set up for perishable crops throughout India with the central government’s financial assistance. Perishable crops are agricultural products that have a limited shelf life and can spoil if not preserved properly. They are also known as fresh foods or foods that need to be kept cold and stored right away. Perishable crops include fruits, vegetables, and other fresh produce that are highly perishable due to their moisture content and susceptibility to microbial growth. 

Examples of perishable crops include Tomatoes, Peppers, Bananas, Leafy vegetables, Potatoes, Yams, Carrots, and Onions.

Schemes for cold storage warehouses

The government is implementing various schemes for setting up cold storage warehouses.

Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is implementing the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). Moreover, financial assistance is provided for various horticulture activities. The construction, expansion, and modernization of cold storage facilities with a capacity of up to 5000 MT in the country will be carried out based on the Annual Action Plan (AAP) received from States/UTs. Furthermore, AAPs are prepared by the States/UTs based on their requirement, capacity and availability of resources.

The component of Cold Storage warehouses is demand/entrepreneur-driven. The government will assist in the form of a credit-linked back-ended subsidy. Furthermore, the subsidy is available at the rate of 35% of the project cost in general areas and 50% of the project cost in hilly and scheduled areas.

Who are eligible

Assistance is available to individuals, groups of farmers/growers/consumers, partnerships/proprietary firms, SHGs, FPOs, companies, corporations, cooperatives, marketing federations, local bodies, APMCs, and state governments.

Capital investment scheme for cold storage warehouses

Moreover, the National Horticulture Board (NHB) is implementing a scheme called the Capital Investment Subsidy. It is for the Construction, Expansion or Modernization of Cold Storage and Storage for Horticulture Products.

Under this scheme, credit-linked back-ended subsidy is provided at the rate of 35% of the capital cost of the project in general areas, and 50% in the case of North East, hilly & scheduled areas. It is possible to apply for funding for the construction, expansion, or modernization of cold storage and Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage with a capacity of over 5000 MT and up to 10000 MT. In the North East region, units exceeding 1000 MT in capacity are also eligible for assistance.

MoFPI scheme

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) implements a Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain, Food Processing and Preservation Infrastructure as one of the components of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).

It intends to reduce post-harvest losses of horticulture and non-horticulture produce. Moreover, it provides remunerative prices to farmers for their produce.

Under this program, the Ministry offers financial assistance in the form of a 35% grant-in-aid for general areas and 50% for North East and Himalayan States, ITDP areas, and Islands. This scheme is for storage and transport infrastructure. The value addition and processing infrastructure rates are 50% and 75%, respectively. A maximum grant-in-aid is Rs. 10.00 crore per project. It is for setting up integrated cold chain projects including irradiation facility. Standalone cold storages are not covered under the Scheme.

Additional schemes for cold storage warehouses

All the above schemes are demand/entrepreneur-driven through commercial ventures. Government assistance is provided based on proposals received from the States/entrepreneur.

Furthermore, to strengthen the country’s agricultural infrastructure, the government has launched the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) worth Rs. 1.00 lakh crore. Under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), collateral-free term loans of up to Rs. 2.00 crore are available. Moreover, it is available with a 3% interest subvention on the term loan. This loan is for establishing post-harvest infrastructure, such as cold storage warehouses.

This information was provided by the Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Ramnath Thakur. This info was in a written reply in Lok Sabha yesterday on the 6th of August 2024.