Karnataka lacks storage for 2.1-mt foodgrain

Karnataka, which ranks seventh in the infrastructure development index in the country, is facing an acute shortage of foodgrain storage capacity. The state requires an additional capacity of 2.18 million tonnes (mt) for the Public Distribution System (PDS) and non-PDS commodities. The estimated investment required is Rs 1,100 crore.

According to a warehousing gap assessment study by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), the effective storage capacity for PDS commodities in Karnataka was 1.05 mt in 2012-13, which is 54.3 per cent of the total requirement of 1.94 mt.

"We have conducted a scientific study on finding the storage gap in Karnataka. It is not a big difficulty for the state government to arrange funds. They have scope to borrow funds under Nabard's Rural Infrastructure Development Fund and also contribute through the budget every year," G R Chintala, chief general manager of Nabard, told Business Standard.

The state government can spend Rs 200 crore each year and borrow the rest of the money from Nabard, and also involve the private sector to create the capacity over the next four years. Nabard is ready to give as much funds as the state requires, said Chintala.

The warehouses built in India before 2000 were not constructed scientifically and are not capable of stopping rodents and fire accidents. There is a need to build the godowns keeping these issues in mind, Chintala added.

However, for non-PDS commodities, the state had a surplus capacity for the storage of surplus crop produce in 2012-13. Based on past trends, the study has projected that by the year ending 2016-17, the state requires an additional storage capacity of 2.18 mt, of which 1.79 mt for PDS commodities and 385,000 tonnes for non-PDS commodities.