Post harvest losses in marketing of vegetables in Himachal Pradesh

Keeping in view the importance of post-harvest loss assessment in marketing and its methods of estimation in research onpost-harvest management, a study was purposively carried out in one of the high altitude remote& backward regions namely ChhotaBhangal of district Kangra, Himachal Pradesh which has vast potential for production of off-season vegetables. A two-stage random sampling technique was employed for the selection of 10 vegetable growing villages in the first stage and 60 growers from selected villages through proportional allocation method in the second and final stage of sampling. A random sample of five local traders operating in the study area was also taken to estimate the losses at trader's level. The findings of the study revealed that total physical post-harvest loss of 20.50 kg/q valued at Rs 1201 was found to be maximum in fresh coriander leaves followed by broccoli with 18.97 kg/q amounting to Rs 462, cauliflower with 18.96 kg/q equivalent to Rs 331, cabbage with 18.38 kg/q assessed at Rs 250, potato with 15.02 kg/q valued at Rs 157 and radish crop with 13.98 kg/q valued at Rs 156. The functional analysis revealed that inadequate transportation, long distance from farm to road head, pre-harvest disease occurrence and inadequate storage significantly accounted for the post-harvest losses. The study recommends the enhancement of infrastructural facilities such as all-weather roads, controlled atmosphere storage (CAS) and modern market yards in the study area. Scientific community from nearby public/private institutes should frequently visit the area to inform and interact with the farmers so that they become aware of cost effective methods to prevent post-harvest losses in vegetables.