President takes dim view of food wastage, says farmers must be taken as partners by food processors

New Delhi, Dec 20 (UNI) Taking a dim view of food wastage in a country like India “with undeniable inequalities in income and consumption’’, President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday said that it does not just pose economic questions but moral as well.
Addressing the Platinum Jubilee Conference of All-India Food Processors Association here, he said while food wastage can easily be prevented by better and more rational food distribution, the issue of post-harvest wastage was still more pressing.

“ A few years ago, a report by the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology had estimated the value of such waste at almost Rs 100,000 crore. This is a tragedy,’’ he said.
“A majority of our agriculturalists are engaged in subsistence farming. Their produce is a source of sustenance for them. If it is damaged or destroyed because of inadequate storage or logistics, the livelihood of innocent families is hurt,’’ he pointed out.