On a warm afternoon in Bihar, eastern India, farmer Rakesh Kumar stands in his potato field, watching furrows that once brimmed with promise.

A small-scale farmer, Kumar also grows wheat and maize, but it's the potatoes — a staple of Bihar's agrarian economy — that make or break his season.

"Some we keep for eating, some we sell, and some we save for sowing next year," he told DW. "We send some to the cold storage too but that's expensive."

When storage isn't available, up to a third of his harvest rots.

"Many times we are forced to dump our produce," Kumar said.

In India, inadequate cold-chain infrastructure and soaring heat are taking a heavy toll on farmers.

Recent reports find roughly 25–35% of fruits and vegetables spoil before reaching market, and only about 6% of produce is transported in refrigerated chain facilities. These losses tally to about $11.5 billion (€9.84 billion) a year.

Using solar power to avoid blackouts

However, the same heat that is causing immense food waste can now also be used to preserve food in solar-powered cold storage facilities.

One of the companies offering these systems, Inficold India Private Limited, already operates over 500 installations across India including dozens in Bihar.

"Farmers can now store their produce fresh for up to several weeks and sell it when market prices are better," a company spokesman told DW.

"This helps them earn more and reduces food spoilage."

In places like Bihar, where temperatures regularly soar above 45°C (113 Fahrenheit) and nearly 80% of the population depends on agriculture, proponents of this technology promise farmers the power to preserve high-value perishables like vegetables, fruits, milk, or fish right at the source.

They also tout the advantages of having cold storage units which would not depend on diesel, which is costly and causes pollution, or be plugged into the less-than-reliable central electricity grid.

Farmers need help from officials, NGOs and businesses

Energy expert Anik Chanda agrees that solar cold storage holds promise, but believes its success will depend on how it is implemented at the grassroots.

"It must be community-based," he told DW.

"One small farmer can't afford to set up cold storage alone. If five or six farmers share it, then it becomes viable." He added that storage pods — compact 20 to 40-foot (6 to 12 meter) containers — can also serve energy needs of an entire village cluster if placed strategically. 

"Let NGOs, technical firms and the government work together with farmers. Make everyone accountable, and it will work," he said.

Solar panels 'not enough'

Mukund Singh, who runs one of 25 cold storages in the Bihar city of Begusarai, has a different perspective on the problem of food waste. 

"There are more than enough cold storages here," he said. "The issue is not storage but economics. Small farmers cannot afford it and that is a harsh truth."

Singh says business in his facility has become unsustainable due to soaring electricity bills, To reduce costs, he installed solar panels and now receives a rebate from the Bihar government. Still, he isn't convinced solar can fully replace conventional power.

"Solar has helped bring down my energy costs a little," Singh said. "But it is not enough to make a big difference. My bills are still high, and the savings don't really trickle down to the farmers."

Bihar offers subsidies

For farmers unable to afford cold storage, or who are put off by transport costs, there's often no choice but to let the crops rot.

Indian authorities are now promoting several state and federal subsidy programs for solar cold storage units.

Last year, Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency (BREDA) issued tenders for solar cold-room units that are eligible for a 50% subsidy, meaning farmers (or implementing bodies) would cover half of the installation cost, with the rest provided by the state.

Yet, implementation has been inconsistent.

"Lack of technical standards was the primary impediment in proliferation of such technologies," the Inficold representative said.

"But with new engineering guidelines from the Ministry of Agriculture, adoption is expected to grow."

The government has also started promoting solar cold storage through cooperative unions, especially in districts like Nalanda, Vaishali, and Samastipur, where vegetables like tomatoes, cauliflower, and brinjal spoil quickly under peak summer temperatures.

'You just need space'

Cold storage operator Mukund Singh believes scaling up solar cold storage projects could allow him to cut costs, and eventually reduce his prices by one third.

However, Singh warned that full solar conversion requires substantial upfront investment and reliable sunshine. For now, most facilities operate on hybrid models.

But others argue solar technologies have a far larger potential.  Alok Kumar, who runs Solar Bihar, said the shift to solar can slash electricity bills in cold storages by 80–95% and allow even remote areas off the grid to operate independently.

"Even if you are not connected to the grid, you can use electricity from solar in the day and from batteries at night," he said.

"In Begusarai, we have around 300 sunny days a year," Kumar added. "So solar is absolutely feasible, even for larger systems like cold storage. You just need space."

Cold storage in a heating world

Turning India's scorching weather to an asset is becoming more important as global climate heats up. Studies estimate that by 2030, India's agricultural yield could decline by up to 25% due to extreme weather.

At the same time, renewable energy expert Anik Chanda said solar-powered systems could cut food wastage by as much as 40%.

Chanda points to brinjals, or eggplants, as an example of immense food waste.

"They are often left in the open for days before reaching markets — by then, half of it is already spoiled," he said. "With cold storage close to the farm, freshness and profits both improve."

Chanda urged "panchayats" — India's grassroots-level local governance bodies — to step in, facilitate self-help groups and oversee localized deployment.

Chanda added that "innovation must reach the last farmer in the last village" to gain full benefits of cold storage.

Until then, farmers like Rakesh Kumar will continue paying out of pocket, gambling each year on whether their harvest will last —  or wither in the heat.

The reporting for this story was supported by a grant from Earth Journalism Network (EJN)

Edited by: Darko Janjevic