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The Economic Times/ ­- News, Dom, 15 de Abril de 2012
CLIPPING INTERNACIONAL (Supreme Court)
India won't be able to store another
bumper crop
NEW DELHI: The problem of plenty is once again
troubling the Indian government as it does not know
where to store the bumper grains to be harvested for
the third year in a row. Fears are rising that the grains
would be out in the open, rot and be eaten by rodents
even as millions go hungry in the country which is
planning to enact a right to food law.
The government's plans to create additional storage
space have so far moved at a snail's pace. For
instance, of the additional storage capacity of 19
million tonnes (MT) planned by 2012­-13 through
public­-private partnership (PPP), only 0.5 MT could be
created till January 2012.
"The states fail to provide land for the purpose," said a
food ministry official, citing the reason for the tardy
progress of the scheme.
Experts say the government's move to attract private
players to build warehouses and other infrastructure
has not succeeded because it does not offer tax
benefits to them.
Biraj Patnaik, adviser to the Supreme Court­-appointed
food commissioners, told IANS: "The government
should drop the idea of involving private players in
building godowns and let the states do the job."
With wheat procurement having started this month, the
government is looking at a record crop over 90 MT this
April­-June season.
But the total storage capacity available is 53.4 MT,
including 33.4 MT with the Food Corporation of India
functioning under the central government, and 20 MT
with the states.
Of this, ministry sources said, storage utilisation is 76
percent, leaving around 24 per cent capacity unutilised
due to lack of proper planning.
According to one estimate, up to seven percent of the
country's annual grain production goes waste due to
insufficient storage space and inefficient transport and
distribution networks.
The lack of adequate storage capacity would bother
authorities as procurement of wheat from major
producing states like Punjab, Haryana and Western
Uttar Pradesh picks up. Together, the three states
account for over 80 per cent of India's total production.
One way of solving the problem, Patnaik told IANS, is
that the government should distribute more grains
among the needy if it is not able to create enough
storage capacity.
To reduce stockpiles, the government had allowed
traders last year to export wheat and rice surpluses.
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