If anything, the present dispensation will be remembered for its penchant to make a mess of most things. The plastic crate issue is classically illustrative and a fine example of doing the right things in the wrong way!
It is stated that a colossal loss of 35 to 40% takes place in perishables (vegetables and fruit) between farm and kitchen. It is perfectly reasonable to act so that such loss could be eliminated or diminished. This will be about the only way in which the twin objectives of improving farmer prices and consumer costs can be simultaneously achieved A loss avoided is as good (or better) than an increase in output. Bad handling and poor packaging are important reasons for the loss of perishables. An obvious way of achieving the desired result is to pack delicate produce in suitable plastic crates.
If this much is agreed, the players in this chain are growers -> collectors -> wholesale handlers -> crate manufacturers ->lorry transporters -> wholesale receivers -> retailers -> consumers.
The sensible option,- given the lead time available - would have been to bring together representatives (say two) of each group to hear their problems. In the absence of such information, they are likely to centre around cost, convenience (growers) dispatch and return of empties (collectors), crate pricing (manufacturers), economical packing (transporters), quality produce (retailers and consumers).
The sticking points, which are easily verifiable for truthfulness and remediable are:-
Is it true that six crate loads can be packed into one sack? How do the weights loaded into a lorry in sacks and crates compare? If crates are made to a modular size, can the difference in loading capacity be met or reduced? What is the price of a crate (claimed to be 1,400)? Since crates are returnable, are the handling and transport charges reasonable (said to be 600 per crate)? All the above are amenable to proof.
If egg producers, beverage manufacturers and live chicken sellers can use crates, is there a real problem? Is it not more likely that the arrogant and inflexible attitudes of "I will implement it, come what may" and "We will not change" are the real (and rather stupid) positions of the contending parties, the true reason?
In Israel, I have seen vegetable (brinjal) growers pack their trimmed, wiped glossy produce into export-ready boxes, labelled (for identification of source) ready for air freight right from the field. In the Philippines, bananas are dehanded, fungicide-dipped and likewise finally packed into boxes at the plantation itself. The will is the need.
Any in the hierarchy that have been remiss, unconcerned or negligent for the past many months, should be punished. Otherwise, we will continue to force vegetables into poly-sacks, to sweat and boil, squash then into (and onto) rattling lorries,have a couple of chaps reclining comfortably (for security and "passa hari’ reasons) to be inflicted on a compliant and helpless lot of consumers and garbage lot rummagers.
By the way, those jolly innovators who propose to turn waste polythene bags into diesel for automobiles, may much more prudently turn their genius towards making economical vegetable crates. If they need the technology, the Municipality of Bangalore have long been turning waste plastics into buckets, bins and other low price receptacles.
Since we already claim to know how to catalytically solubilize plastic, all we need are the moulds.
Dr. U.Pethiyagoda
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=41322
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