Higher minimum support prices could create storage problems

Farmers | The government also announced Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog, a scheme to enhance the productivity of cows.

The hike in minimum support prices (MSP) of kharif crops would create storage issues in the event of a bumper harvest.

Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh would most likely face a shortage of storage space, the Economic Times report quoted Sanjeev Kumar Chadha, MD, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed).

He stated that Maharashtra did not have the prerequisite storage space for the chana crop. Chadha stated that they went as far as 300 to 400 kilometers to get the storage space.

Chadha also added that the Centre advised the states to set up storage units near mandis. Warehouse corporations must also be enlisted in the exercise and that the state governments must sign Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on the same. Gujarat and Rajasthan are examples of states that have carried out the practice.

The report also quoted ministry officials saying that the peak stock holding capacity needed was around 600 lakh tonne. It also said that the government is going to have sufficient capacity for storage of food grain at national level.

Further, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is currently looking at increasing their storage capacity by creating silos for pulses and other grains. An FCI official also said that PwC is currently preparing a feasibility report on the same.

Food and public distribution minister Ram Vilas Paswan was assured of the government’s ability to procure foodgrain at the MSP, where there is a difference between market and the MSP.