As we all are aware, Zero Hunger by 2030, is the first sustainable development goal set by the United Nations, which India is committed to. Further, with the country’s population set to cross 1.5 billion by 2030, it is crucial to ensure that food security is maintained through sustainable production and distribution systems.
While being a leading producer of agro commodities, in terms of potential India still has a lot more opportunities to offer, which can be enabled through an effective and economically viable cold chain which will integrate the supply chains of perishables, thereby reducing physical waste and loss of value of perishable commodities.
Towards leveraging multi-modal logistics, the Government has recently announced the PM Gati Shakti - National Master Plan, focusing on an end-to-end seamless, multi-modal transportation network. While the mission aims to overcome some of the key constraints it is equally important to have the right post harvest handling protocols in place for the produce being transported as it undergoes different modes of handling.
With this background CII’s Food and Agriculture Center of Excellence (FACE) is convening a Special Plenary Session on 16th December 2021, on a virtual platform, focusing on the importance of multi-modal logistics, sustainable and efficient infrastructure and post-harvest protocols towards retaining maximum produce value, and thus impacting farmers’ incomes.
The Special Plenary Session will be followed by the Sixth edition of CII Cold Chain Award which will reward and recognise individual/organizations for pre-eminence and outstanding contributions to the field of cold chain management and to raise awareness about sustainable success and competitiveness through best practices.