Is better grain storage facility a need of the hour in India?

 

Authored by Jayaroopinni S.S.

 

The Kharif season has begun with the start of South West monsoon in India. Food security has been the subject of concern in India. The government has achieved a record procurement of wheat (38.97 million tonnes) and rice (50.5 million tonnes) in the 2019-2020 season¹. In spite of record-breaking procurements, India ranked 94 among 107 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2020². Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) estimates that food loss and waste in India is at around 40%³.

Farm silos are large steel cylindrical containers used in agriculture for bulk storage of grains with thermostat devices to maintain the moisture content of the grains. India had the modern silos built in the 1990s, but only now the government and private has resorted to an increasing silo production on realising its value. But still the most prevalent form of storing grains in India is ‘Cover and Plinth’. Cover and Plinth is nothing but the method of grain sacks over a raised platform covered by a waterproof material. This is an unscientific way of storing grains as the grains are prone to pests, rodents and microbial attacks that result from floods, rains or extreme temperatures.

Under National food security Act, 2013, the government is entitled to provide food grains at subsidized prices to 75% rural and 40% urban population through Targeted Public Distribution System. The beneficiaries often complain about the bad quality of grains that are given. Food corporation of India could enter into Public private partnerships or they themselves could create a separate operational system at the site of procurement, where the grains that are procured are well sealed in a neat packaging.

This not only protects the quality of the grains, but also prevents illicit activities where in small quantities of grains from conventional jute sacks are stolen and sold in black markets. Recently the Tamil Nadu government in its Covid relief kit supplied well sealed grocery items in a neat package through ration shops⁴. While we could get sealed good quality grains in private mandis, why couldn’t the government train and employ a separate set of personnel for proper storing purposes in its warehouses.

Research and developments to improve India’s storage techniques must be frequently done. FCI could engage with NITI Aayog, the public policy think tank whose one of the objectives is to focus on technology upgradation and capacity building by conducting workshops and forums throughout various agricultural and research institutions to get inputs on better improvement of storage facilities that are cost efficient.

Meanwhile government should direct its spending more on installing new storage facilities and upgrading the existing ones. Subsidies on building modern storage structures and technology upgradation should be increased.

In long run silos are the best way of storing food grains especially for a country like India that maintains a huge buffer stock. But in the transitional period amidst the prevailing pandemic and economic fluctuations, the government should act more proactively in minimising the food grains lost during the storage.

 

References:

1. Record procurement of rice, wheat in 2019-20 season - The Economic Times (indiatimes.com)

2. Global Hunger Index Scores by 2020 GHI Rank - Global Hunger Index (GHI) - peer-reviewed annual publication designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels

3. Foodgrain storage losses in India: Waste not, want not – India Business & Trade, an initiative of Trade Promotion Council of India (tpci.in)

4. Tamil Nadu to supply Corona Relief Kits with 13 grocery items from June 3- The New Indian Express