Grains: Problem of plenty?

New Delhi : First the good news: India is expected to see a record production of food grains with rice and wheat produce touching a new high.

The third advance estimates announced by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar suggest rice production will be around 103.41 million tonnes. Wheat will also see a record production at 90.23 million tonnes.

And it's not just food grains. Even cash crops like sugarcane and cotton are looking at bumper harvests.

Sugarcane harvest is expected to be 351.19 million tonnes while cotton will be at 35.20 million bales (of 170 kg each)

But there are concerns on how and where this food grain stock will be stored, given that there is a considerable gap particularly on the storage front. And many are wondering if the government is ready to harvest a problem of plenty.

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No doubt the announcement that over 250 million tons of food grains will be produced this year has brought cheer to the government battling slowdown in key sectors and policy disarray.

But that is only half the story. It also means there is that much more pressure on the government to ensure that there is no repeat of last year where food grains were left to rot due to lack of storage facilities even as many poor people went hungry to bed.

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The government now has a new problem: Where and how to store the bumper farm produce.

Consider this:
The expected procurement is likely to exceed 84 million tonnes this year, but the current food grain storage capacity falls short by over 20 million tonnes at 63 million tonnes.

Efforts to enhance storage are on.

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The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been told to lease out additional godowns for a one year term. States are being offered advance allotment of food grains. FCI has been asked to improve utilisation of available storage space from the existing 85 per cent.

But both the Centre and state governments know these measures won't resolve the supply-storage imbalance. So even before the harvest, a blame game is taking roots. Chief ministers who have been battling for more rights to states are holding the Centre responsible for the space crunch.

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The chief minister of Punjab, which is also known as the wheat granary of the country, told reporters in Chandigarh, "All this problem is because of the central government. It does not give us the permission to build additional godowns. And every year we see a repeat of bumper crops and rotting food grains cycle. The problem is two fold. One is storage, the other is transportation."

Minister of state for food, KV Thomas acknowledged that the problem of storage is indeed a big challenge. He said, "We have already allowed exports of wheat and rice. So far 42 lakh tonnes of non-basmati rice has been exported. Similarly, 6 to 7 lakh tonnes of wheat has been exported. We are trying our best but it is not an easy task."

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The poor centre-state coordination has led to slow growth in capacity. Of the 150 lakh tonnes capacity the government planned three years ago, just four per cent is ready. That is why record food grain production is good news for those backing the right to food bill or those managing the national budget. But the space crunch raises the spectre of mounds of rotting food grain - even as millions go hungry.

(Anand Patel contributed to this story)