Traditional Grain Storage Practices in India

Traditional Grain Storage Practices in India

                                                       

   Storing of grains is of prime importance to avoid social unrest, seasonal variation, to provide seeds for next planting season, prevent deterioration and ensure food security in the country. India’s food grain production is around 257 million tons (2014–15) and an additional 150 million tons has to be produced by 2040 to feed almost 1.5 billion people. Thus, the campaign for higher production of foodgrain and reduction in storage losses has to continue with increased efforts. About 65–70% of total food grains produced in the country is stored at farm level in traditional structures like Bakhara, Kanaja, Kothi, Sanduka, earthen pots, and Gummi. These indigenous storage structures are suitable for storing grains in their region-specific conditions. About 6.0 to 10% of total production food grains are damaged due to moisture, insects, rodents, fungi, exposure to rains, floods, and negligence. According to an Indian study of grain storage practices, 41.5% of farmers are using gunny bags, 18.1% using bulk storage in rooms, 11.1% using metallic bins and remaining 30.0% stored grains in other traditional structures made up of local materials like storage baskets made exclusively of plant materials, calabashes, gourds, earthenware pots, jars, solid wall bins, underground storage, wooden/ mud structures. Here it lays the significance of improved storage structures for specific regions, which provide safer and economical means of grain storage for long durations. If a farmer stores the grain properly, he should be given some incentive apart from normal government price. This ultimately would lead to reduced losses at farmers level, which subsequently would reduce the pressure on storage space with the Food Corporation of India (FCI), central and state warehousing corporations which are still running short of 45 million tonnes storage capacity. This paper discusses in detail the existing grain storage practices being followed in India and critically presents the strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threat involved in the traditional storage system.                                                                   
 

   India produced record 265.04 million tons (MT) of foodgrains in the year 2013–14 followed by around 257 million tonnes in 2014–15 with advances in technology, better seed varieties, and a good monsoon. However, despite making huge strides in production proper storage facility and capacity are not adequate to reduce storage losses that are incurred annually to national food grain inventory. The Central Institute for Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology CIPHET, Ludhiana, Punjab, in a national level study reported losses of 4.65 to 5.99% in food grains at different post-harvest stages during 2014–15 (Jha et al., 2015). This amounts to around 16 million tons of food grains that are lost every year. Singh (2010) reported the monetary value of the losses amounts to more than ` 50, 0,000 million per year.
Foodgrain is stored in villages in different traditional storage structures and containers. The indigenous storage methods range from mud structures to modern bins. Traditional grain storage plays an important role in preventing losses, which are caused mainly due to weevils, beetles, moths and rodents (Kartikeyan et al., 2009). The containers are made from a variety of locally available materials, differing in design, shape, size and functions according to agroclimatic conditions (Kanwar and Sharma, 2003). The materials used include mud, bricks, cow dung, paddy straw, wheat straw, bamboo, reeds, wood, etc
Many rural farm families use traditional knowledge for constructing grain storage structures and use traditional storage practices at household and farm level, to meet the demand for food, feed, and seed. With the advent of modern improved storage structures, changing international agricultural business scenario, and varied consumer demands, the practicality and economic feasibility of traditional storage structures need to be ascertained. The easy availability of raw material from agricultural by-products, low-priced labor, traditional knowledge and limited access to improved warehousing drive rural farmers towards traditional storage practices. However, there are limitations that question the idea of storage by traditional methods in rural areas. Nevertheless, given the massive gap between production and modern storage capacity, it is imperative to encourage and improve the traditional storage practices. It offers many opportunities given the infrastructural constraints with the public as well as private stakeholders. The need of the hour is to bolster traditional storage methods with modern inputs and to provide cost-effective storage structures to farmers, so as prevent enormous storage losses on one hand and strengthen national food security on the other.

  
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