Aarti Srivastava

Last week(000 On May 15, the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the field of cooperatives Approved the formation and empowerment of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) for the world’s largest food grain storage scheme. The main objective of this scheme of one lakh crore rupees is to strengthen the country’s food security, reduce crop loss and stop the selling done by farmers in times of crisis. In order to ensure timely and uniform implementation of the scheme in a professional manner, the Ministry of Cooperation will coordinate with at least States and Union Territories of the country. will implement a pilot project in selected districts. This pilot project will provide important information related to different regional requirements of the storage scheme, which will be incorporated in the countrywide implementation of the scheme.

The inter-ministerial committee will give guidelinesWorld An Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) will be constituted under the chairmanship of the Cooperation Minister to implement the country’s biggest food storage scheme. The committee will have the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Minister of Food Processing Industries and Secretaries of the concerned ministries as members. Amendments, if necessary, in the guidelines and implementation method of the schemes of the ministries related to the construction of godowns etc. for agriculture and related purposes in the practical agricultural credit societies (Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS)) selected by the committee and the members involved in it. shall have the right to do.

Plan to build seven hundred lakh tonnes of food storage capacity in five years in the co-operative sector in the next five years through the scheme approved by the government to increase the grain storage capacity 551 lakh tonnes of additional storage capacity will be constructed. At present the grain storage capacity of this area is 1, 467 lakh tonnes. Thus, after the successful implementation of this scheme, the total storage capacity in the cooperative sector will be 2,86 will be lakh tonnes. If the government is to be believed, this step will also help in creating employment opportunities in rural areas. This scheme is the ‘world’s largest grain storage scheme’ in the cooperative sector. According to the information given by the Central Government, the existing storage capacity of the cooperative sector is 1,289784 out of lakh tonnes highest percentage is in Punjab while lowest percent is in West Bengal.

The scheme will be implemented in different phasesA national level coordination committee will be constituted within a week after the scheme is approved by the cabinet.

with approval Implementation guidelines will be issued within days.

Approved 22 Within days a portal will be launched to link PACS with Government of India and State Governments.

After getting approval from the cabinet The work of implementing this proposal will start within days.

This is how money will be managedThis program is about Will start with an expenditure of one lakh crore rupees. Funds available in the Ministries of Agriculture, Food Processing and Food and Consumer Affairs will be used for the implementation of this scheme. According to the government, under this scheme 2, 15028 in each block Tonnes capacity godown will be established and for this financial assistance will be given to each pack.

The storage plan is multidimensionalThis plan of food storage is multidimensional. This will not only bridge the gap in the storage infrastructure in the country by creating warehouses at the PACS level, but will also enable PACS to perform many other functions. For example, acting as procurement centers for state agencies and Food Corporation of India (FCI), serving as fair price shops (FPS), setting up custom hiring centers, setting up common processing units In which the work of checking, sorting, grading unit etc. of agricultural produce will be included. These steps will enable the packs to be made multipurpose.

Not only this, the creation of decentralized storage capacity at the local level will reduce the wastage of food grains in the country and strengthen the food security in the country.

By providing various options to the farmers, accidental sale of crops at very low prices will be stopped and farmers will be You will be able to get better price of your produce.

Under this scheme farmers can sell their crops to packs by getting some advance payment on Minimum Support Price (MSP), and the packs can be marketed by can receive the balance amount after the sale of food grains, or

Farmers can choose to store their crops in warehouses managed by PACS and receive money for the next crop cycle and sell their crops at a time of their choice, or

The farmer can collect his entire crop Can sell packs at minimum support price.

Implementation of this scheme will bring down the cost of transportation of food grains to procurement centers and then from godowns to fair price shops.

Through ‘Whole of Government’ approach, this scheme enables PACS to diversify its business activities. – Will enable to perform different tasks, which will empower packs. When the PACs are empowered, it is obvious that the income of the farmers will also increase.

The number of FCI operated godowns in the country is two thousandby Ashwani Kumar Choubey, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Feb. 2199 was told in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha that February 1, 2199 operated by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for storing food grains in the country 2020 are warehouses. These godowns include both FCI owned and hired godowns.

State-wise number of godowns operated by FCI (1.1. As per condition) Number of State Godowns

Punjab 527 Haryana 142Uttar Pradesh 96Rajasthan 87Maharashtra 76A state in Eastern India 48Jharkhand 21Odisha 23

West Bengal 04

Total 2, Some traditional methods of grain storage Farmers doing farming for centuries had developed some methods to keep their produce safe from their experiences. Know about some such common methods of keeping the grains safe.

Drying in the sun: In this method the farmer leave in the open in temperatures of degrees or more. This kills the insects present in them. After this it is stored and stored.

Keep near the fire: Traditionally farmers keep the grain near the place where the food is cooked. Insects run away from the heat and smoke coming out of the kitchen. If the amount of grain is very high, then to keep it safe, barns have been made where the fire keeps on burning on low flame. The heat of the fire does not bring moisture to the grains.

Use of Salt: Farmers also often use salt for short term storage of grains. This prevents insects from entering inside the store.

Use of camphor: Farmers also use camphor to store grains for a short period. The strong smell of camphor also keeps insects away from the grains.

Putting in underground pits: This method has been used in areas where the water table is low. By making a cylindrical or bell-shaped pit in it, after applying maize husk or husk on its inner layer, grains are kept in it and the pit is covered with wooden strips or polythene or steel sheets.

Silo (Khatti): Silo is often seen in villages There is a long cylindrical hut like store in which grains like paddy are kept. These can be made of metal, concrete, plastic or clay. In these, safe storage of grains can be done from six months to years.

This is how FCI stores foodgrains For institutions like Food Corporation of India, i.e. FCI, the work of storage is of utmost importance. FCI not only has its own storage capacity, it also hires warehouses from Central Warehousing Corporations, State Warehousing Corporations, State Agencies and Private Sector for short term as well as guarantee period under Private Entrepreneur Guarantee Scheme. , Food grain storage capacity of the last few years (as on April 1) (in lakh metric tonnes) Year – Storage Capacity of FCI – Storage Capacity of State Agencies – Total

..823 – .25 – .34 – .. .2019 – 388.65 -467.03 -855.68

01.04.2020 -412.03 -343.91 -755.94

01.04.2021 -414.70 -403.26 -817.96

01.04.2022 -426.69 -361.73 -788.42

01.04.2023 -337.43 -376.16 -713.59

स्रोत: भारतीय खाद्य निगम

Agriculture year by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in February this year 2020- Second Advance Estimates of food grains production were released. According to Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar, in the current financial year 4267. Record production of lakh tonnes of food grains is estimated, Which financial year – Compared to . lakh tonnes is more. ,estimation of record production of food grains in the country.08 million tonnes of record rice production is expected, which 788- Compared to .45 million tonnes more .

788.68 Record production of lakh tonnes of wheat is estimated, which is more than the production of the last financial year .13 lakh tonnes is more. million tons thick or The production of nutritious food grains (Shri Anna) is estimated, which compared to last year 289784 . lakh tonnes more.. Record production of lakh tonnes of maize is expected which is 8. as compared to last financial year. lakh tonnes is more.

. Record production of lakh tonnes of barley is expected this year.

. Lakh There is a possibility of record production of pulses in tonnes this year, which is – than 5. Comparison of Lakh Tonnes and Average Pulses Production of Last Five Years In . lakh tonnes more..06 Record production of lakh tonnes of gram is expected this year.

.22 A record production of lakh tonnes of moong is expected this year, which is 3. compared to last year. lakh tonnes is more.

Pm ModinationalGrainPublished Date

Tue, Jun 6, 2023, 2: 26 PM IST