Agriculture ministry sets up wing to drive investment in cold storages & food supply chain

To modernise farm logistics and supply value chains in line, the agriculture ministry has created a cell. The decision has taken after the recent announcements of reforms in the sector by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The reforms cell will help coordinate efforts to streamline supply and transportation of farm produce, and also aid projects to add value to primary farm goods for better prices to the farmers This includes making amendments to the six-decade-old ‘Essential Commodities Act’ and pushing two ordinances which will free up farm trade from all restrictions and guarantee a legal framework for pre-agreed prices to farmers.
The government hopes that scaling back the ECA, 1955, will help drive up investment in cold storages and the food supply chain. Cold storages are refrigerated warehouses that can store perishables for up to six months. Refrigerated old stocks can cool food prices in times of scarcity.