Storing Foodgrains in the Open

What is the issue?

• India stores millions of tonnes of foodgrains in the open under tarpaulins.
• It has notable health effects and is a cause for other losses.

Why is foodgrains storage important?

• In India, at the height of the rainy season, growth of fungi overnight is a serious concern.
• Humidity in the air and warmth of summer are conducive for fungi growth.
• All fungi need is something to feed on, and grains are more susceptible to it.

• Eating mouldy grain causes a variety of illnesses.

• Mycotoxins, found in mouldy grain/foods, are associated with human disease.
• They produce aflatoxins (cancer-causing), and other such toxins.
• Aflatoxicosis causes abdominal pain, vomiting, hepatitis.
• They sometimes even cause death after acute exposure to high concentrations in food.
• Chronic low dose exposure to aflatoxin can result in impaired growth in children.
• So healthy foodgrains storage conditions are essential to avoid possibilities for the above.

How is storage done elsewhere?

• In other parts of the world, grain is stored in silos (a tall tower or pit on a farm used to store grain).
• Here, stored grain is kept dry and aired so as to prevent fungal and insect attacks.
• The time North American mid-west came under plough, large grain silos and a railway system to export the grain were built.
• Today, the U.S. has a permanent storage capacity nearly equivalent to its annual grain production.

What are the concerns in India?

• Storage - India handles about 30.52 million tonnes of rice, wheat, maize, gram and sorghum.
• These are stored in structures at Food Corporation of India godowns and hired spaces.

• Most procured grain is stored using the CAP, or cover and plinth method.
• Under this, grains are piled up on the floor and covered with a tarpaulin.
• This is very cheap and easy to make, but not healthy.

• Silos - India has only four silos located each in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Hapur-Ghaziabad.
• A recent one, in Uttar Pradesh, is the most modern with a storage capacity of 500 tonnes.
• The remainder of government-procured grain is stored in poor conditions.
• To export basmati rice, Punjab has built modern, temperature-controlled grain silos with a storage capacity of 50,000 tonnes.
• However, this is not for the Indian market.
• Loss - It is estimated that there is a 10% loss of harvested grain.
• Of this, 6% (around 1,800,000 tonnes) is lost in storage.
• These grains become so damp, fungus-ridden and unfit for consumption.
• Impact - Grains are stored outdoors under tarpaulins through the rainy season.
• After this, grain is ground (grind) and converted to flour or flour-based products or de-husked.
• However, mycotoxins are already present from the time the flour was stored in the form of grain.
• Awareness - The government is aware of the deadly consequences of grain with mycotoxins.
• There are regulations in place to prevent the purchase of mouldy grain from farmers.
• However, there are no published studies on the extent of mould infection in grain stored using the CAP method.

Source: The Hindu