The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 1 lakh crore plan for “World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector” by the convergence of various schemes of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Ministry of Food Processing Industries. This will create the world’s largest grain storage capacity in India in the cooperative sector.
In order to ensure a time-bound and uniform implementation of the plan in a professional manner, the Ministry of Cooperation will implement a pilot project in at least 10 selected Districts of different States/ UTs in the country. The Pilot would provide valuable insights into the various regional requirements of the project, the learnings from which will be suitably incorporated for the country-wide implementation of the Plan, according to a statement issued by the cabinet.
The move will help reduce crop damage and prevent distress sales by farmers. This will also help in strengthening the country’s food security and creating job opportunities in rural India.
Under the plan, an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) will be constituted under the Chairmanship of Amit Shah, the Minister of Cooperation and Home, with Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal, Food Processing Industries Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras and Secretaries concerned as members. The IMC will modify guidelines/ implementation methodologies of the schemes of the respective Ministries as and when need arises, within the approved outlays and prescribed goals.
Several schemes under the concerned ministries have been selected for convergence under the Plan. The Plan would be implemented by utilizing the available outlays provided under the identified schemes of the respective Ministries. Under it, the government will create 700 lakh tonnes of grain storage capacity in the cooperative sector over the next five years.
The IMC will work towards the facilitation of the ‘World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector’ by the creation of infrastructure such as godowns, etc. for Agriculture and Allied purposes, at selected ‘viable’ Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).
According to the government, the plan is multi-pronged – it aims to address not just the shortage of agricultural storage infrastructure in the country by facilitating the establishment of godowns at the level of the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), but would also enable PACS to undertake various other activities.
The PACS will be enabled to function as procurement centres for State Agencies/ Food Corporation of India (FCI), serving as Fair Price Shops (FPS), setting up custom hiring centres, setting up common processing units, including assaying, sorting, grading units for agricultural produce, etc.
The creation of decentralized storage capacity at the local level would reduce food grain wastage and strengthen the food security of the country. Providing various options to the farmers, it would prevent the distressed sale of crops, thus enabling the farmers to realise better prices for their produce.
It would hugely reduce the cost incurred in the transportation of food grains to procurement centres and again transporting the stocks back from warehouses to FPS. Through a ‘whole-of-Government’ approach, the Plan would strengthen PACS by enabling them to diversify their business activities, thus enhancing the incomes of the farmer members as well.
Calling it a “visionary decision” which will lay the foundation of a prosperous, self-reliant and food grains-rich India, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said that lack of agricultural storage capacity leads to wastage of food grains and farmers are forced to sell their crops at low prices. With this decision, farmers will now get modern grain storage facilities in their blocks through Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), so that they will be able to get fair prices for their grains, he added.
Background of the scheme
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has observed that all out efforts should be made to leverage the strength of the cooperatives and transform them into successful and vibrant business enterprises to realize the vision of “Sahakar-se-Samriddhi”. To take this vision forward, the Ministry of Cooperation has brought out the ‘World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector’.
The plan entails setting up various types of agri-infrastructure, including warehouses, custom hiring centres, processing units, etc. at the level of PACS, thus transforming them into multipurpose societies. Creation and modernization of infrastructure at the level of PACS will reduce food grain wastage by creating sufficient storage capacity, strengthening the food security of the country and enabling farmers to realise better prices for their crops.
There are more than 1,00,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in the country with a huge member base of more than 13 crore farmers. In view of the important role played by PACS at the grass root level in transforming the agricultural and rural landscape of the Indian economy and leveraging their deep reach up to the last mile, this initiative has been undertaken to set up decentralized storage capacity at the level of PACS along with other agri infrastructure, which would not only strengthen the food security of the country but would also enable PACS to transform themselves into vibrant economic entities.
