By:- Mr. Varun Hangloo, Head – Marico Innovation Foundation
“On World Food Day, it is important to recognise that food security depends not only on producing more food, but also on preserving and distributing what we grow. According to the FAO, 13.3% of food is lost globally between harvest and retail, while UNEP estimates that a further 19% is wasted at the retail, food service and household levels. This highlights the need for interventions across the food value chain, particularly in post-harvest management and storage.
In India, a study commissioned by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and conducted by NABARD Consultancy Services estimated post-harvest losses of 7.36 million tonnes of fruits and 11.97 million tonnes of vegetables across 54 agricultural commodities. Reducing these losses is essential to protecting farmer incomes, improving resource efficiency and ensuring more produce reaches markets.
Innovation can help address this challenge. GreenPod Labs, part of Marico Innovation Foundation’s Scale-Up Programme, has developed plant-based sachets that extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by 40–60% by slowing ripening and minimising microbial attacks.
Through our Agri-Tech Pilot in Uttar Pradesh, in partnership with Samunnati Foundation as our on-ground implementation partner, we are exploring post-harvest solutions across Mirzapur and Varanasi. These include innovations in storage, cooling, grading and sorting, with solutions from Saptkrishi, Temperate Technologies, Godaam Innovations and Agrograde. Through farmer interactions, on-ground demonstrations and feedback, we assess the technical potential, affordability and suitability of these innovations for real-world adoption, with the aim of reducing post-harvest losses, improving market access and strengthening farmer livelihoods.
The next step is to take promising technologies beyond pilots and enable wider adoption. This requires collaboration between innovators, farmers, industry and institutions, supported by market access and effective implementation. Ultimately, the focus must be on translating innovation into measurable outcomes: reducing food losses, improving farmer realisations and ensuring more food reaches consumers safely and sustainably.”
