Get rid of mountains of surplus grains

Get rid of mountains of surplus grains

The government should immediately revamp food stocking and public distribution. Grain stocks in the central pool, at around 73.6 million tonnes) in September, were more 2.4 times the buffer norm for October and 80% higher than the buffer norm for July. Procurement by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is set to rise when the new kharif crop (rice) arrives in the market. High domestic grain prices make exports uncompetitive. However, burgeoning stocks with the FCI jack up the cost of stored grain, and, in turn, the food subsidy bill to unsustainable levels. The current system is outdated and must be replaced with one that reduces the FCI’s role to maintaining a buffer that could be moved swiftly to tackle any local shortage. The private trade should be allowed to handle the grain trade, physical distribution by the State being just one option to ensure availability of food at affordable prices.

FCI, at present, distorts the market and prevents Indian agriculture from integrating into the global market. The areas from where these surplus stocks are procured must move to crops other than food grains. Liberal minimum support prices for rice and wheat, coupled with subsidised inputs, distort choice and keep farmers tied to these waterguzzling and soil-depleting crops. A 2018 study by Nabard and ICRIER held that shifting a large proportion of rice production to central and eastern states, while promoting wheat cultivation through sustainable irrigation in the rice-growing regions of Punjab and Haryana, could help India prevent an impending water crisis by 2030.

Policy focus must be to raise the output and yields of superior foods, given the increase in demand for such foods. A shift away from rice and wheat is nutritionally required and also in the interest of improving the Centre’s finances.