Launch of a fast-tracked mini Centre of Excellence in Haryana, India
The new Mini CoE will revolutionise sustainable cooling and cold-chain ecosystems in Haryana
Written by: Dr. Anant Shukla
A fast-tracked mini Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Crop Post-harvest Management and Cold-Chain (CoE-SPMCC) to revolutionise sustainable cooling and cold-chain ecosystems in Haryana.
To help reduce food losses across the state of Haryana, India, the Government of Haryana’s Department of Horticulture (DoH) has taken a bold step towards transforming its horticultural infrastructure with the launch of a fast-tracked mini Centre of Excellence, a ‘mini CoE’. This new facility will be operational while the full-scale Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Crop Post-harvest Management and Cold-Chain (CoE-SPMCC) is being built and set up in the state. The smaller interim version of the CoE will focus on the provision of training to build capacity, along with a range of awareness raising activities. This initiative is a major milestone in the Haryana-UK CoE-SPMCC programme, a ₹115 Crore project aimed at boosting farmers’ incomes and strengthening India’s food security.
The mini CoE will be operationalised within 2026, laying the groundwork for a national framework in sustainable post-harvest management and cold-chain. It will be used to deliver Executive Training Courses targeting around 400 government officials based in Haryana’s District Horticulture Departments, raising awareness of cold-chains and best practices in post-harvest management (PHM), as well as other related topics. Additional courses such as a foundation course and orientation courses, as well as topical orientation seminars, will also be offered.
The CoE-SPMCC is being built with technical support from the United Kingdom’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), United for Efficiency (U4E) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and a consortium of academic institutions led by the University of Birmingham (UoB). The consortium includes Heriot-Watt University, Cranfield University, and London South Bank University.
The first phase of the CoE-SPMCC, backed by funding from the Government of Haryana, has officially received a go-ahead and will invest ₹8.52 Crore to construct the mini Centre. It will feature cutting-edge training facilities and demonstration labs showcasing sustainable cooling technologies. These will include a refrigeration training block for hands-on learning in refrigerant handling, energy performance testing, and solar energy applications; a telemetric lab to support advanced technical education; and courses and seminars for cold storage owners, growers, government officials and others. The mini CoE will mark the beginning of the "Train the Trainer" programme in India and specialised course modules on engineering testing.
The DoH has been actively promoting horticultural technologies and has been engaged in setting up 12 CoEs across Haryana, with two centres in addition to the CoE-SPMCC leveraging strategic collaborations with national and international agencies. The mini CoE will complement existing CoEs by providing a holistic system of systems approach to develop sustainable cold-chains and post-harvest management. Haryana spearheads India’s horticultural transformation and this new addition to its CoE portfolio promises to further elevate the state’s role in revolutionising India’s sustainable agricultural practices and cold-chain ecosystems.
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