Marico Innovation Foundation (MIF) has launched an on-ground agri-pilot in Varanasi and Mirzapur of Uttar Pradesh, aimed at reducing post-harvest losses in vegetable value chains.
The pilot is designed to bridge the gap between innovation and adoption by enabling farmers to access practical, and affordable solutions that can improve incomes and reduce waste.
A media statement said that the pilot spans 30 villages and over 1,000 farmers, focusing on highly perishable crops such as tomatoes, brinjal and cauliflower that are vulnerable in regions with limited access to cold storage, pack houses or aggregation infrastructure. With few viable post-harvest options available locally, farmers are often forced to sell immediately after harvest, regardless of market demand or price, leading to both wastage and reduced earnings.
The statement said that Varanasi and Mirzapur have historically faced gaps in post-harvest infrastructure with most smallholder farmers dependent on local aggregators, middlemen and rural haats for selling produce. Only 20-30 per cent farmers access the agricultural produce market committee (APMC) system to sell their produce, limiting price discovery and market access. Even though vegetables can typically be stored for three to seven days, farmers have limited ability to hold produce and are compelled to sell quickly after harvest.
While farmers are aware of post-harvest losses and actively seek ways to reduce wastage, affordable and easy-to-use technologies remain out of reach for most rural communities.
Based on this, MIF has curated a portfolio of five startups and six post-harvest technologies that address key challenges around storage, handling and shelf-life improvement at the farm and village level. Selected for affordability, feasibility and ease of adoption, these solutions are being introduced through hands-on demonstrations and direct farmer engagement, enabling farmers to assess their usefulness in real farming conditions, it said.
The on-ground execution is being led by Samunnati Foundation, the implementation partner, leveraging its strong grassroots presence and farmer networks across Uttar Pradesh. The pilot has commenced with activities currently focused on farmer mobilisation, baseline assessments, and real-time feedback from the field.
Over the next few months, the pilot will track improvements in post-harvest handling, reduction in losses, increase in marketable produce, and improved price realisation to assess its overall impact on farmer incomes. It will also evaluate adoption levels, continued usage of solutions, satisfaction scores, and willingness to pay, with the objective of strengthening the model for future scale-up.
The statement anticipated that 20-25 per cent of farmers will adopt these post-harvest solutions with farmer producer companies expected to play a vital role in their propagation and expansion. These interventions are expected to reduce supply chain losses and waste by 20-30 per cent. Additionally, by extending the shelf life of produce by three-five days, the pilot aims to enable farmers to access more remunerative market prices and reduce the pressure to sell immediately after harvest.
Quoting Suranjana Ghosh, Head, MIF, the statement said, “Post-harvest losses are one of the most persistent and economically damaging challenges in Indian agriculture. What makes this problem difficult is not the absence of innovation, but the gap between innovation and adoption. Through this pilot, we are working closely with farmers in Varanasi and Mirzapur to understand what solutions actually work on the ground — economically, operationally and behaviourally. Our ambition is to build a scalable model that can be replicated across India, helping reduce wastage while delivering meaningful income impact for farmers.”
Published on February 26, 2026