Oct 16, 2016 -

The amount of food india wastes annually is enough to feed a country like egypt for one year

News Hour:

India produces enough food to feed the entire country every day, but not everyone can afford food like we do. Such luxuries don’t come easy. Besides, we are also wasting 67 million tonnes of it every year, according to a government study.

67 million is more than the national output of countries like Britain. Also, it is more than enough to feed an entire Indian state for a year,reports indiatimes.

Under the National Food Security Programme, the government feeds nearly 600 million destitute people every year. But the value of the food lost is INR 92,000 crore, which is nearly two-thirds of what it costs the government.

A study conducted by Ciphet, the farm ministry’s harvest-research body, revealed that fruits, vegetables, and pulses are wasted the most — the main drivers of food inflation. Tonnes and tonnes of food are dumped, thrown, or held until rotten.

Gluts, pests, weather and lack of modern storage are the other reasons for wastage.

Apart from that, a lot of food is also wasted during transportation. For instance, one million tonnes of onions vanish on their way from farms to markets, as do 2.2 million tonne tomatoes. Overall, 5 million eggs crack or go bad due to lack of cold storage.

Such stats really get one concerned over the structure of strategies and policies that focus on increasing output and food management after that, especially the technology used to preserve it.

This article has been posted by a News Hour Correspondent. For queries, please contact through [email protected]
No Comments
Copyright 2024 | News Hour - stories around our lives ...