Indian mango growers install greenhouse dryers
According to a research, India produces 220 million tons of vegetables and fruits in a year but about 30% of the production never reaches the table. The main reason for this waste is a lack of storage infrastructure, particularly at harvest-time. To support the farmers, Covestro along with Vivunes recently executed a project for drying of fruit in greenhouses.
Commenting on the initiative, Richard Northcote, Chief Sustainability Officer, Covestro AG, said “India is a fast growing country and has the second largest population, with agriculture being the source of income to nearly 60 % of the total population. Still, post-harvest and storage loss is a major difficulty that needs to be addressed meticulously. Food preservation methods such as solar drying help in reducing food insecurity among farmer communities and will help in boosting the economy by supporting them with additional revenue source.”
While highlighting the impact of greenhouse solar dryers on the agri-horticultural sector with Covestro technology, AP Prabhakar, Chief Executive of Vivunes, said that the Covestro technology was proving to be an effective solution for commercial scale drying, with not much skill required from farmers to achieve desirable standards. It was also further stressed that this technology will find extensive applications shortly with a pan India presence owing to its advantage of using renewable energy and on the current market acceptance of the produce dried with Covestro technology.
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