Mr. Nilesh Vadgave will present his APS as per the detail:
Date: September 30, 2022
Time: 1530 – 1630 hrs.
Venue: CTARA Conference Room No.1
Topic: Design, development and techno-economic feasibility assessment of climate agnostic Onion storage structures for farmers
Guide: Prof. Amit Arora
RPC Members: Prof. Shireesh B. Kedare, Prof. Satish B. Agnihotri
Abstract:
With a population of 135 crores, India is the world's second-largest onion producer (~2.5 crores MT in 2021). Over 70% of the onions are grown in the western and southern parts of the country. However, people consume it across the country throughout the year. The imbalances in the supply chain, along with the high perishability of onions, make the value chain inefficient. Traditionally, onion is stored in Open Ventilated Storage Structures (OVSS) for its preservation, where reported storage losses are 40-60%. The government strives to stabilize market prices by constructing large-sized OVSS (50-5000 MT) and subsidizing them. The primary reason for the storage losses in OVSS is the exposure of stored onion to uncertain climatic conditions, including heavy rains, high humidity, and extreme temperatures.
Considerable losses in OVSS demand an affordable and scalable solution, whereas literature on affordable and scalable storage technologies for Indian cultivars of onions is sparse. CTARA, IIT Bombay has previously attempted to address this by developing 10-25 MT Climate Agnostic Onion Storage Structures (CAOSS). The stakeholders for the storage structures comprise individual farmers, Cooperatives, and Farmer Producer companies. They have a significant role to play in reducing post-harvest storage losses during storage and handling. This ecosystem needs study of Appropriate Technology creation, dissemination, and the role of technology entrepreneurship in rural areas.
The proposed research focuses on developing OVSS and Modular CAOSS in various capacities. Their appropriateness in solving post-harvest loss problems, Dissemination strategies, Techno-economic feasibility, and workable business models for social entrepreneurship with farmer groups are yet to be studied in detail.