MORE the foodgrain, less the space tostore them. Fihding itself in such apiquant situation, the Food Corporationof India (FU), has embarked on anambitious Rs 10 billion project to suitably store the large quantity of foodgrains that it finds itself saddled with.The current stock of both wheat andrice grains with FC1 is about 35 milliontonnes (mt) when it was 14 mt onlythree years ago. Predictions are thatfoodgrain production is likely to soar inthe coming years leading to acute storage problems.
Vaccum process storage' (vps) is themodem storage system aimed at by theFci and this involves the storage of asmuch as six mt of foodgrain in a singlePvc container. Once the containers arefified with grain, air is instantly suckedout of them, leaving them vacuumised.According to Prabhat Kumar, chairperson, FC1, the containers can bestacked in open spaces without the fearof the grain getting spoiled or infectedwith fungus in the absence of air. Alsothey will not discolour and stay thuseven when stored for more than threeto four years.
The vps is now undergoing a feasibility study by the National IndustrialDevelopment Corporation to check itssuitability in Indian conditions and thereport is expected to be ready by theend of November.