The objective of the CII National Task Force on Cold Chain Development is to create awareness about global developments in the cold chain sector through the experiences of major players and policy makers, and highlight how a paradigm shift can be achieved. The Task Force is working towards creating a holistic approach to address the sector by involving all the components of supply chain. The Task Force, recognizing the potential of the state of Andhra Pradesh to become a hub leading in supply of raw and processed mango products, initiated a project titled ‘Strengthening of Post-
Harvest Value Chain Management for Development of Mango Industry in Andhra Pradesh’. The aim of the project is to provide the necessary stimulus to help in designing a roadmap for Andhra Pradesh to emerge as a mango supply hub for India and for exports. As part of this project, CII FACE, along with the Department of Horticulture, State Government of Andhra Pradesh organized a workshop in Tirupati on November 7, to provide a platform for the key stakeholders including representatives from the processing industry, relevant government departments, research institutes, farmers, farmer processing companies, mango processors, input providers, etc. The stakeholder workshop also witnessed the participation of YSR Horticulture University, AP Department of Horticulture, local administration of Chittoor district, APEDA, APTICO, AP Food Processing Society and more than 200 farmers from across the state. The action points that emerged included the identification of key challenges and issues hampering the growth of mango
processing industry, technologies and the post-harvest cold chain infrastructure facilities that can be adopted for effi cient operations of the industry.
Efforts will be made to facilitate credit to the horticulture sector by banks; IT extension services to provide updated market information to the farmers; laboratory infrastructure to help calibrate the quality of mangoes; and integration of the pre-and post-harvest value chain for mangoes. The Task Force is meeting with the Horticulture Department to chalk out a road map for making Andhra Pradesh the global hub for mango sourcing and processing.