World’s largest grain storage plan gets Cabinet nod

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a programme with Rs 1 lakh crore aimed at establishing the largest grain storage capacity in the cooperative sector worldwide. The initiative aims to curb crop damages, prevent distress sales by farmers, and bolster the country's food security.

During a media briefing, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur declared that the Cabinet has granted its approval for the "world's largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector." The programme will commence with an initial expenditure of approximately Rs 1 lakh crore.

Under the proposed plan, a storage facility with a capacity of 2,000 tonnes will be established in each block, contributing to the strengthening of the cooperative sector. This move will allow Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) to venture into food grain storage. Currently, there are around 1 lakh PACS in the country, of which approximately 63,000 are operational.

The Union Minister highlighted that while the country's food grain production stands at around 3,100 lakh tonnes, the existing storage capacity only accounts for 47 per cent of the total output. In contrast, developed economies maintain storage capacities that exceed their output levels.

Thakur explained that the available funds from the ministries of Agriculture, Food Processing, and Food and Consumer Affairs will be utilized.

Currently, the total grain storage capacity in India is about 1,450 lakh tonnes. With the establishment of an additional 700 lakh tonnes of storage capacity in the cooperative sector, the overall capacity will reach 2,150 lakh tonnes.

One of the key advantages of this initiative, according to the minister, is the creation of decentralized storage facilities at the local level, which will reduce food grain wastage and enhance the country's food security. This will significantly reduce transportation costs incurred in the movement of food grains to procurement centres and subsequent transportation from warehouses to ration shops.