How Modern Technology is Revolutionizing Foodgrain Handling in India

India produces over 350 million tonnes of foodgrains annually – a remarkable achievement for a country that was once a net food importer. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: a significant chunk of that harvest never reaches the consumer’s plate. Post-harvest losses, largely caused by outdated storage and handling methods, continue to drain India’s food supply chain. The good news? Modern technology is stepping in to change this. From steel silos and automated handling systems to IoT-based monitoring and bulk transportation, India’s foodgrain management is undergoing a major transformation.

The scale of the problem: why traditional handling falls short 🔗

India’s foodgrain supply chain has long relied on conventional methods – jute bag storage in godowns, open-air Cover and Plinth (CAP) structures, and manual labour for loading and unloading. While these served the country for decades, they come with serious drawbacks. According to government data, around 6.58% of foodgrains are lost during storage alone due to pest attacks, rodent infestation, moisture damage, and spillage. The Journal of Postharvest Technology notes that India’s post-harvest loss has remained constant at about 10% of total production, with storage accounting for approximately 60% of those losses.

The Cover and Plinth (CAP) method – where grain bags are stacked on raised platforms and covered with tarpaulins – is especially problematic. In major procurement states like Punjab, nearly 90% of wheat is stored under CAP during peak procurement seasons. These open structures expose grains to rain, humidity, birds, and rodents, leading to significant quality deterioration and quantity losses.

What are modern steel silos and how do they work? 🔗

Steel silos are large cylindrical or vertical structures built from galvanized steel or reinforced concrete, designed to store foodgrains in bulk rather than in bags. They represent a fundamental shift from conventional godown-based storage to scientific, mechanized grain management.

A modern silo facility typically includes several key components: automated conveyor systems for loading grain from the top, aeration systems that circulate air to control moisture and temperature, thermal monitoring probes placed at various levels inside the silo, and mechanized auger and conveyor systems for efficient unloading. Advanced silos also include fumigation systems that uniformly distribute phosphine gas inside the sealed chamber to eliminate insects, and carbon dioxide monitoring systems that provide early warnings of pest activity.

Why silos outperform conventional godowns 🔗

The differences between silo storage and traditional godown storage are substantial. Because silos are sealed, closed systems, they keep grain storage losses below 0.5% – compared to 6-10% in conventional setups. They eliminate rodent and vermin infestation, spillage, bird droppings, and pilferage almost entirely. Silos also require only about one-third of the land area needed by a conventional warehouse of the same capacity, which is significant given that land availability at existing FCI (Food Corporation of India) depots is scarce.

Another major advantage is speed. Traditional handling involves labourers manually carrying 50 kg jute bags – a slow, labour-intensive, and injury-prone process. Silos, on the other hand, can handle up to 700 tonnes of grain per hour through fully mechanized systems. This dramatically reduces turnaround time during peak procurement seasons when millions of tonnes of wheat and rice arrive at procurement centres within weeks.

The role of FCI and the national silo construction plan 🔗

The Department of Food & Public Distribution, in collaboration with FCI, has been driving the adoption of grain silos through public-private partnerships (PPPs). The government’s action plan envisions steel silos with a total capacity of nearly 11 million tonnes to be set up at 249 sites across India, connected through a hub-and-spoke model. In this system, a central hub terminal has rail connectivity, while smaller spoke terminals depend on the hub for rail movements. One hub can service multiple spokes, making the logistics of grain distribution far more efficient.

FCI, established in 1965, is the primary agency managing India’s foodgrain reserves. It currently manages a combined storage capacity of over 917 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) along with state agencies. To modernize this infrastructure, FCI has been commissioning silo projects through competitive bidding. Several private companies – including Adani Agri Logistics, NCML, and others – operate silo facilities in states like Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and West Bengal.

How silo procurement centres benefit farmers 🔗

Modern silo terminals are often notified as procurement centres where farmers can deliver their produce directly in bulk form. The fully automated operation ensures quick service, transparent weighing, accurate quality assessment, and timely payment to farmers. This is a major improvement over the traditional mandi system, where farmers often face long waiting times, subjective quality grading, and delayed payments. The elimination of gunny bags alone saves considerable resources – both in terms of the cost of bags and the labour required to handle them.

Modern equipment in grain handling: cleaning, drying, and quality control 🔗

The modernization of foodgrain handling goes beyond just storage. Before grain enters a silo, it passes through a series of processing steps that significantly improve its quality and shelf life.

Cleaning and grading 🔗

Modern facilities use sieves, magnetic separators, and destoners to remove foreign matter like dust, stones, metal particles, and plant debris from the grain. This cleaning process ensures that only quality grain enters the storage system, reducing the risk of contamination and spoilage during long-term storage.

Drying to safe moisture levels 🔗

Grain moisture content is one of the most critical factors in storage. If grain is stored at high moisture levels, it becomes susceptible to mould growth, mycotoxin contamination, and rapid insect multiplication. Research published in the journal Foods confirms that reducing grain moisture to safe levels before storage is essential for preventing both weight loss and quality degradation. Modern silo complexes include mechanical dryers that can handle large volumes of grain quickly – something that sun-drying on the ground simply cannot match, especially during the monsoon season.

Real-time monitoring through IoT sensors 🔗

One of the most significant technological upgrades in modern grain handling is the use of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors for continuous monitoring. Temperature probes placed at multiple levels inside silos track heat buildup – a key indicator of insect activity or moisture migration. Humidity sensors monitor ambient and internal conditions. Some advanced facilities also use level sensors that provide precise inventory data in real time, enabling better planning and distribution.

Bulk transportation: reducing transit losses 🔗

Handling grains in bulk doesn’t just improve storage – it transforms the entire logistics chain. In the conventional system, grain travels in 50 kg jute bags loaded onto trucks and railway wagons manually. The bags often tear during handling, leading to spillage. Hooks used by labourers to carry bags on their backs create holes that cause continuous grain loss during transit.

Modern silo-based systems use specially designed covered railway wagons that are top-loading and bottom-discharge. These wagons can be loaded automatically – a full rake of 50 wagons can be loaded in under five hours without any manual labour. This bulk transportation method ensures minimal transit losses and significantly faster movement of grain from procurement centres to distribution depots.

An ICRIER policy brief on reducing post-harvest losses highlights that expanding bulk storage and transport through steel silos – especially to consuming centres in eastern and southern India – is essential for reducing the combined storage and transit losses that currently plague the supply chain.

The world’s largest grain storage plan: decentralized infrastructure 🔗

While large-scale silos address the needs of central procurement, the Indian government has also recognized the importance of decentralized, village-level storage. In May 2023, the government approved the “World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in the Cooperative Sector”, which aims to build storage infrastructure at Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) across the country.

Under the pilot phase, godowns have been completed in 11 PACS across 11 states, with a total storage capacity of 9,750 metric tonnes. More than 500 additional PACS have been identified for godown construction, with a target completion date of December 2026. The plan uses convergence of existing government schemes like the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) and the Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) scheme to provide subsidies and interest subventions to cooperatives.

This decentralized approach addresses a critical gap. About 60-70% of India’s foodgrain is stored at the household level by small farmers using traditional methods – mud bins, bamboo structures, and similar indigenous storage. These methods are inexpensive and eco-friendly but are vulnerable to significant grain losses from insects, rodents, and moisture. By providing modern godowns at the village level, the plan helps farmers avoid distress sales and store their produce safely until market conditions are favourable.

Challenges in adoption and the road ahead 🔗

Despite the clear advantages, the transition to modern technology faces several hurdles. The high initial cost of setting up silo infrastructure is a major barrier, particularly for smaller operators. The total investment required for expanding storage capacity by 70 million metric tonnes is estimated at around ₹1.25 trillion over five years. Land acquisition for new terminals can also be time-consuming.

There are also regulatory challenges. For instance, the Jute Packaging Materials (JPM) Act of 1987 mandates the use of jute bags for packaging government-procured wheat and rice. While jute is biodegradable, its use is at odds with bulk handling and hermetic storage methods that could reduce losses more effectively. Policy experts suggest revisiting this Act to allow faster adoption of modern alternatives.

Additionally, while silo technology works well for wheat, rice storage in silos is still in the experimental stage. Pilot projects are being conducted in Bihar to test the viability of storing milled rice in steel silos. If successful, this could open up silo-based storage for India’s eastern and southern rice-producing regions – areas where transit losses are particularly high because rice is shipped from central depots.

Looking forward, the integration of technologies like blockchain for grain tracking, renewable energy-powered facilities, and AI-based predictive analytics for pest management will further modernize the handling process. The government’s push for computerization of PACS – a project worth ₹2,925 crore to connect over 63,000 cooperatives through a national ERP platform – will bring transparency and efficiency to grassroots-level grain management.

Why this matters for India’s food security 🔗

India achieved a record foodgrain production of 353.96 million tonnes in 2024-25. But production alone doesn’t guarantee food security – what matters is how much of that production actually reaches the people who need it. Every tonne of grain saved through better handling is a tonne that doesn’t need to be produced, saving water, land, fertilizer, and farmer effort.

The shift from traditional CAP storage and manual bag handling to modern silos, automated equipment, and bulk transport is not just a technological upgrade. It is a structural reform of India’s food supply chain – one that directly impacts food availability, farmer incomes, government expenditure, and environmental sustainability.

What do you think? Can India realistically phase out CAP storage completely in favour of silos, given the scale of its annual procurement? And should small farmers be incentivized to adopt improved village-level storage technologies, or should the focus remain on building centralized infrastructure?

References

1. https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/food-grain-storage-in-india
2. https://journals.acspublisher.com/index.php/jpht/article/view/15748
3. https://theprint.in/india/how-modi-govts-steel-silos-plan-can-stop-loss-of-stored-foodgrains-save-rs-1350-cr-year/791645/
4. https://www.business-standard.com/content/press-releases-ani/grain-silos-the-linchpin-of-india-s-food-security-ecosystem-124101401008_1.html
5. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5296677/
6. https://icrier.org/pdf/Policy_Brief_20.pdf
7. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2146718
8. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311932.2023.2276559
9. https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2025/sep/doc2025928649201.pdf