Background

India produces more food than almost any other country in the world, yet loses a great deal of it after harvest. A study commissioned by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and carried out by NABARD Consultancy Services put the annual cost at around Rs 1.53 trillion, close to 18.5 billion dollars. Cereals spoil at rates of about 3.89 to 5.92 percent and pulses at 5.65 to 6.74 percent. For fruit, the figure runs as high as 15.05 percent, and for vegetables, about 11.61 percent. Very little of this is lost in the ground. It goes after the crop is cut, during the days it spends waiting to be dried, stored, moved, or sold.

Most of that loss falls on the farmers who can least afford it. About 86% of India's landholdings are smaller than two hectares, and the average holding is roughly one hectare. Farms this size rarely have a proper drying yard, a sealed container, or anywhere cool to keep produce for a few days. What happens next is familiar to anyone who has seen it. Grain is spread on a roof or a roadside and takes in moisture. Pests get into sacks that were never built to keep them out. Vegetables are sold within a day or two of picking, at whatever price the buyer names, because the alternative is watching them spoil. The equipment that would prevent most of this is neither new nor expensive. Hermetic storage bags, solar dryers, drying racks, and moisture-resistant containers are all in use elsewhere in the world. Many farmers have simply never come across them.

CropLock was founded to address the gap between what is known and what is actually available. It aims to find out where crops are being lost on small farms, gather the evidence on what would stop it, raise the funds to buy the equipment, and put it into the hands of the participating farming communities.