How clean energy can cut food waste

In a small village in Odisha, a group of women farmers turned rising temperatures into an opportunity.

- TANIYA SAH & VANDITA SAHAY

With support from the Harsha Trust, the Markoma Women Farmer Producer Company (FPO) - a collective of more than 460 farmers - set up a 5 metric tonne Ecozen solar-powered cold storage unit to serve local vegetable growers.Piloted in 2018 after a careful assessment of farmer needs, the initiative has reduced post-harvest losses, improved productivity, stabilised prices through organised market linkages, and spread awareness of solar technology across neighbouring communities. This experience shows that reducing food loss requires not just better supply chains, but smarter energy systems.

India loses an estimated 30-40 per cent of its fruit and vegetables after harvest, often before they reach consumers. These invisible losses happen during transport, storage, and processing - all of which depend on reliable energy. Without it, food spoils quickly, farmers are forced to sell at distress prices, and emissions rise as produce rots. Yet discussions on food loss tend to focus on infrastructure and logistics while overlooking the energy systems that power them. A cold storage unit is useless without electricity; processing centres cannot run on intermittent power; even simple preservation techniques like drying increasingly rely on mechanical equipment. For smallholders, dependence on unreliable grids or diesel generators can be devastating.