Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Location and development of cold storage infrastructure for potato through remote sensing and GIS based applications in Banaskantha district of Gujarat

7^th Indo-Global Summit and Expo on Food & Beverages

October 08-10, 2015 New Delhi, India

Deepak B Hiremath1, Deepa Hiremath2, Arup Dasgupta3 and Sanjay Chaudhary1

1Ahmedabad University, India
2Navsari Agricultural University, India
3Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics, India

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Food Process Technol

Abstract:

Potato is a major cash crop of Gujarat. The state ranks fifth in potato production in India with Banskantha district accounting for more than 50 percent of the state�??s total production. It is one of the main foods for majority of the population as it is cheap with high nutritional value. Nearly 80 percent of potato in Gujarat is grown in winter but its demand remains consistent throughout the year. Hence, priority needs to be given to develop post harvest infrastructure like cold storage, food processing, packaging etc., to ensure continuity in supply all round the year. Though, 90 percent of potato cold storages are located in potato growing regions, it is still far below the requirement. The present study was undertaken for potato in Banaskantha district to analyze the demand and supply situation, the effect of price and evolve an optimum plan to locate cold storages using satellite remote sensing (RS) data and Geographic Information System (GIS). Resources at -1 LISS-III and IRS 1C LISS-III (23 m resolution) images were taken for study purpose. The major factors accounting for potato price instability were weather, production, infrastructural factors such as service area and location of cold storages. Farmers faced huge losses due to inadequate storages facilities. The study revealed the need to increase the number of cold storages particularly over a larger area nearer to farms rather than to concentrate them in a particular town. It would help in generating revenue for both the government and private sectors as well as circumvent losses due to transportation.

Biography :

Email: deepahiremath1301@gmail.com