Cold Storage on a Hot Day: Coldrooms and Climate Adaptation in Agricultural Markets in India

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Abstract

We evaluate whether access to solar-powered cold storage mitigates the effects of extreme heat on agricultural trade. In a randomized trial across five peri-urban markets in Rourkela, India, 300 farmers and traders were assigned to receive free access to coldrooms for up to 100kg of produce monthly. Coldroom usage increased by 10 percentage points, or 66%, in the treatment group, leading to 20% increases in quantity sold and revenue—without affecting prices. Importantly, treated vendors’ sales outcomes were less sensitive to extreme temperatures, suggesting enhanced resilience. These gains were concentrated among traders who buy from wholesalers and sell to consumers, with minimal impacts on smallholder farmers. Our results show that cold storage access enhances the scale of trade and revenue outcomes, overall but especially also in hotter weeks. By quantifying the role of post-harvest infrastructure in smoothing weather shocks, our study highlights cold storage as a promising, scalable adaptation technology for climate-vulnerable food systems.

Author

• Shweta Bhogale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  Presenting Author