New Delhi: To set up the world’s largest food grain storage, the ministry of cooperation plans to sign agreements with the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Ltd (NCCF), a senior official told Mint.
The move aims to integrate godowns built at the Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) level with the national food grain supply chain, providing essential market linkages for PACS. DoCA will permit NCCF to utilize its warehouses for storing various commodities like pulses, oilseeds, onions, and grains under various government schemes like the Price Support Scheme (PSS) and Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF).
The proposed collaboration between the ministry of cooperation, DoCA, NCDC, NAFED, and NCCF intends to ensure adequate storage facilities for food grains and other agricultural commodities, the official said.
However, specifics regarding the amount of storage or the number of warehouses to be used remain unclear. These cooperatives, when constructing storage facilities, often utilize funds from the government’s Agri Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme, the official added.
This initiative is part of the government’s strategy to address the shortage of food grain storage capacity in the country. Launched in May last year as a pilot project in various states and union territories, this plan is touted as the largest in the world in the cooperative sector.
At present, India has a grain storage capacity of about 145 million tonnes, with annual food grain output over 300 million tonnes. Every year, the country losses of tonnes of food grains due to inadequate storage.
Over the next five years, India is expected to expand storage capacity to 215 million tonnes.
Queries sent to the cooperation ministry, DoCA, NABARD, NCDC and NCCF remained unanswered at press time.
This ambitious plan includes creating a range of agricultural infrastructure at the PACS level, like decentralized godowns, custom hiring centres, and processing units, through the amalgamation of existing government schemes such as AIF, Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme, Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization, Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme. PACS can avail subsidies and interest subventions under these schemes for building godowns and other agricultural infrastructures.
Additionally, Nabard is supporting PACS by offering refinanced loans at subsidized rates around 1%, factoring in a 3% interest subvention under the AIF scheme for projects up to ₹ 2 crore. This approach aims to enhance PACS’s economic viability by diversifying their business activities and generating additional revenue streams.
So far, 1,711 PACS have been identified for storage capacity creation under this pilot project. Construction is currently underway in 13 PACS across various states and union territories.
Implementing agencies for this pilot project include Food Corp of India, Central Warehousing Corp, NABARD Consultancy Services, and National Buildings Construction Corp.
To oversee this extensive plan, a National Level Coordination Committee comprising members from relevant ministries, departments, and central government agencies has been established. The NLCC will guide the overall implementation and periodically review the progress.
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Published: 16 Jan 2024, 07:04 PM IST