The Department of Nano Science and Technology of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) is pursuing research in developing nano-film that can help extend shelf life of fruits and vegetables, P. Murugesa Boopathi, Vice-Chancellor of TNAU, said here on Monday.
Speaking at a workshop on ‘Supply chain management for horticultural commodities: approaches for socio-economic impact analysis', he said the nano-film would help minimise price fluctuations of perishables in the market.
“The post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables in the country range between 25 per cent and 35 per cent of the total production and are valued at Rs.46,000 crore per annum. This is a matter of deep concern. Therefore, appropriate storage and processing facilities are required to avert this recurrent loss,” the Vice-Chancellor said.
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Due to increasing demand for fruits and vegetables in cities, the Government of Tamil Nadu was promoting polygreen houses among farmers. There was also a proposal to establish three terminal markets, one each in Chennai, Coimbatore, and Madurai.
M. Chengappa, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, said the entire agricultural system needed to get transformed based on the supply chain management (SCM) approach and farms were to be viewed as firms. “The Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) Act needs to be modified to suit the SCM approach,” he said.