In the heartland of India’s agricultural prowess, a silent revolution is taking place that promises to transform the lives of farmers, retailers, and traders. Oorja Development Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. (ODSL) has pioneered an innovative approach to cold storage with Ecofrost Cold Room. Located near a bustling fruit and vegetable market in Samastipur, Bihar, Oorja’s cooling-as-a-service model is changing the game for fresh produce storage and distribution.

Cooling-as-a-Service: Empowering Agri-Entrepreneurs

At the forefront of this initiative stands Oorja Development Solutions India Pvt Ltd, a name synonymous with innovation and sustainable practices. ODSL operates on a unique “Cooling-as-a-Service” model, extending the benefits of their Ecofrost Cold Room to farmers, retailers, and traders. This service is a game-changer, enabling users to store their produce on a pay-per-use basis. The produce is stored until the optimal market conditions prevail, ensuring higher price realization and reduced wastage.

Ecofrost Cold Room: Where Quality Meets Innovation

The Ecofrost Cold Room, with a storage capacity of 5 metric tons, stands as a beacon of freshness and longevity for harvested produce. Situated strategically within 100 meters of the market, it offers convenience and accessibility to all stakeholders. The cold room is not just a storage space; it’s a guardian of quality. It allows farmers, retailers, and traders to preserve the value of their commodities until the time is right.

Farming for the Future: Empowering Farmers

For farmers, the Ecofrost Cold Room is nothing short of revolutionary. Imagine being able to extend the shelf life of your produce by up to 8.3 times while reducing wastage by a staggering 80 times. Mr.Rambabu Singh, a farmer who utilised the cold room, stored his cauliflower and witnessed an extraordinary 7.3 times increase in his profits. This technology doesn’t just store produce; it safeguards the livelihoods of those who bring food to our tables.

Retailers’ Resilience: Reducing Waste, Increasing Profits

Retailers, who are often caught in the struggle against time, find solace in the Ecofrost Cold Room. It is a lifeline for their unsold commodities, providing them with 1 to 3 days of extended freshness. By mitigating wastage, retailers like Mr. Abhishek Kumar, who stored pointed gourd (Parval) in the cold room, are witnessing a remarkable transformation. His waste losses plummeted by an astounding 80 times, painting a brighter financial picture.

Traders’ Triumph: Extending Profit Horizons

Traders, the conduits between producers and retailers, are experiencing a paradigm shift in their operations. The Ecofrost Cold Room allows them to increase the shelf life of their surplus commodities by 6 times and reduce wastage by 40 times. Mr. Vijay Kumar’s experience echoes this sentiment, as storing apples in the cold room led to a 3.3 times increase in his profits. This innovation elevates the entire supply chain, ensuring that everyone benefits from the bounty of the land.

Impact through Ecofrost Cold Room usage

Table 2: Impact of Ecofrost intervention on Cauliflower storage by farmer Mr. Rambabu Singh

Impact of Ecofrost intervention on Pointed Gourd storage by retailer Mr. Abhishek Kumar

Impact of Ecofrost intervention on Apple storage by trader Mr. Vijay Kumar

A Win-Win Ecosystem: Nurturing Sustainability and Prosperity

The success of the Ecofrost Cold Room is not just measured in terms of produce preservation; it’s a testament to sustainable business practices. ODSL’s model doesn’t just benefit the end-users; it’s a source of revenue for them as well. By providing cooling-as-a-service, ODSL earns a monthly revenue ranging from INR 12,000 to INR 20,000. This circular economy not only supports the company but also uplifts the entire agricultural community.

In the bustling markets of Samastipur, Bihar, the Ecofrost Cold Room stands tall as a symbol of progress, sustainability, and shared prosperity. ODSL’s pioneering cooling-as-a-service model is a blueprint for innovation that holds the potential to transform the agricultural landscape across the nation. As we witness the transformation of produce storage, we also witness the transformation of lives – a true testament to the power of human ingenuity and collaboration.

Article originally published by Krishi Jagran

Rotting or ripening of fruits and vegetables is a big problem. The freshness of these fruits and vegetables gets lost before reaching the consumers. And the main problem is non availability of refrigerated trucks or vans and poor availability of electricity in all the places. The rotting of harvested crops also leads to a waste at a criminal level, especially for a country like India which has over 350 million extremely poor people, who are clearly unable to afford two square meals a day.

India loses nearly 38 percent every year of its total harvest due to a variety of reasons, mainly related to the lack of an efficient market linkage system as well as absence of a large scale climate-proof storage capacity. This severely impacts the incomes of a large majority of Indian farmers, of which nearly 86 percent barely manage to eke out a living, earning less than USD 1,000 a year for all their toil and effort.

With the rise in use of solar power, several Indian companies have developed storage rooms and cubicles, powered by solar energy, increasing the shelf life of the harvest nearly 10 times and boosting farmers’ incomes.

Energy expenses account for about 28-30 percent of total expenses in cold storage in India. This means that electrical energy is a major running cost to maintain the cold storage facility. Moreover, grid power supply in the rural areas is very poor with respect to its quantity and quality. This is one of the main reasons behind the abysmally low penetration of cold storage rooms in India and the clear absence of an integrated cold chain that can store, preserve and transport perishable goods like fresh vegetables and fruits.

But now, it is the same sun that could come to the rescue of the farmers and help them preserve their goods for a much longer duration, allowing them to benefit not only from market dynamics and sell their harvest only when they find a buyer at the right price. Over the last few years, the development of solar-powered storages have become a rage across the world, with numerous start-ups and established refrigeration companies alike offering several options for farmers to establish cooling rooms as per their needs.

The solar-powered cold storage offers an ideal response to the needs of Indian farmers as it adequately addresses the problem of post-harvest losses in fruits, vegetables and other perishable food. In these, the crop is placed in clean plastic crates, which are then stacked inside the cold room. This extends the freshness of fruits, vegetables and other perishable food from two days to about 21 days.

Cold rooms are well insulated in order to maintain the necessary temperature, often up to 8°C. The energy comes from the solar panels that are mounted on the roof-top of the cold room and is stored in high capacity batteries that feed an inverter, which in turn feeds the refrigerating unit.