Onion farmers have to suffer enormous losses due to the reduction in the vegetable’s prices and its wastage. They also suffer losses due to erratic rainfall and many other factors. To curb this problem, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution has come up with a solution. According to this solution, the Indian government is willing to construct AI-based warehouses. These warehouses will ensure the mitigation of onion wastage by approximately 5 percent. With this strategy, AI-based sensors will be installed to provide real-time data on the stored onions. As of now, it will be a pilot project and will commence in March. During the pilot phase, around 100 AI-based storage facilities are expected to be established in onion-growing states. According to the officials, this number is projected to increase by approximately 500 centres over the next three years. The first AI-based storage facility is set to be established in Nashik, Maharashtra with the support of the National Cooperative Consumers Federation. It will be followed by facilities in Bheed, Latur, and other onion-growing regions including Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
An official told the media, “Farmers will receive specific data such as dryness and rot percentage through IoT (internet of things). The AI-based sensors will even identify the specific onion in a batch of 100 that is beginning to rot.” Another official said, “This would also enable the government to keep its onion buffer supply, which is generally used to stabilise retail prices when demand increases.”
Artificial intelligence is being used for many purposes in government and non-government sectors of the country. The government believes that with the help of data analysis, farmers will be able to understand which resources are to be used at a particular time. The farmers will be taught how to test soil and water, and choose the seeds for the farming. The authorities, however, have not reported what will be the expenses incurred for this project. As of now, they just said that it would be a cost-effective project.
This is not the government’s only effort to cut down the onion wastage in warehouses. In March, as per the Mint, the government planned to irradiate onions. This will be done with gamma rays before storing them on a trial basis, to reduce post-harvest losses to 10-12%, down from 25%.
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